Frogs and Snakes
by Lisea18
Summary: Sequel to Sound and Leaf. Yaoi. NaruSasu. Naruto and Sasuke's relationship has taken a new turn. But what will happen after their first night together? Naruto has to leave for a mission with his genin team… will everything go as planned?
1. Mission

Hello,

For new people, as indicated in the summary, this is the continuation to the story "Sound and Leaf," so I would advice you to read that one first.

For the rest of you, hello again, here is the complete chapter. I hope you will like it.

English still isn't my mother tongue so forgive my mistakes.

As always, a very big thanks to my awesome Beta!  
A special thanks to Simple-minded-idiot who made me write this chapter faster.

**Chapter 1: Mission **

I will never say it enough, but thanks to my Beta.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!  
Thanks too for the people who actually took the time to help me by reviewing.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A tug awoke Naruto. Grunting, he turned on his belly, sleep taking him over once again. Later a chill settled over him, he felt cold. Grinning lazily he groped around for Sasuke. Feeling nothing he stood up abruptly. Had it all been a dream? No. This was Sasuke's bed. But why wasn't he here? It was so early in the morning. The bed was cold where Sasuke's body should have laid. He had left. Startled Naruto dragged himself out of the bed, heart thundering, and his insides clenched with dread.

First he checked for a note. None.

He checked the kitchen. Empty.

Itachi's room. Empty.

The house was deathly silent, not even a murmur could be heard.

He went back to the abandoned bedroom and dropped himself on the bed, closing his eyes. Was Sasuke regretting what happened? Had it been too fast? Maybe Sasuke couldn't stand to have given himself to him. Maybe he was taking it as a sort of defeat? Maybe… maybe he had just destroyed everything.

Fuck. Why did the bastard have to leave? It felt so horrible, like a slap, like an unspoken reproach that made it so much stronger. He could have stood getting yelled at, a beating, but not this emptiness, as if Sasuke couldn't even face it.

Anger and deception began to build inside of Naruto; clenching his fists he tried not to feel too hurt. He wanted to destroy something to relieve his anger and all his pent up emotions. Should he have expected it?

"You _moron_! You bloody _marked_ me!" came an angry yell from the bathroom.

Sasuke came barging in, entirely dressed and pointing furiously at the part of his chest not covered by his dark yukata where hickeys were perfectly visible.

Naruto blinked. What? But no sound had come from the bathroom! He didn't even think about checking it. Why did the bastard had to be so bloody quiet? He had just given him such a scare!

Feeling his body and noticing more of them, Sasuke's temper only seemed to rise. "Even on my neck!" he roared, glaring daggers at Naruto.

The latter felt so utterly relieved to see him, to have his Sasuke back that he couldn't help but laugh. Sasuke wasn't even angry. Well he was, but not because of what Naruto had thought. Grinning he sprawled on the bed, content with life. He caught just in time the kunai thrown at him. Still chuckling he tried to coax Sasuke into his arms but all he accomplished was getting his hands slapped.

"You're making breakfast! And _not_ ramen!"

"What? But it's still so early!" whined Naruto eyeing the bed with envy. He wouldn't tell Sasuke how worried he had been.

"Don't even think about it," growled Sasuke still trying to cover all his hickeys.

"Maybe you could lace the front of your yukata or how about one of your dark shirts?"

Sasuke watched him suspiciously for a moment and walked toward his cupboard, full of dark shirts that would do perfectly. Naruto pounced tenderly on him and hugged him from behind, nibbling at his ear. He closed his eyes, Sasuke wasn't pulling away and Naruto was too happy to help himself.

"You have to admit they're beautiful hickeys, worthy of a Hokage! Oy!" whimpered Naruto as he was viciously elbowed.

He loved Sasuke's scent, really. It was particularly strong just at the base of his neck, where he pulled his hair back in a ponytail. Naruto brusquely pushed away and stared. There was no ponytail! Sasuke had cut his hair to his old hairstyle!

Sasuke was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Naruto slowly glided a hand on the soft hair, spiky at the ends now that it was shorter. The dark man gave an exasperated groan but said nothing, letting Naruto bury his nose in his hair.

The Uchiha made his head spin; his scent, his personality so proud, his strong body breathtaking and delicate, danger and beauty coupled in one body. All of it was his only, because no one would ever see the proud man in such intimacy, no one would hear him. Naruto purred, his tongue flicking to taste his lover. Sasuke was so… edible.

"Hey! Don't make another one!" yelped Sasuke, breaking the embrace and clapping his hand on his neck.

Grinning Naruto strolled to the kitchen, once safely out of reach he called back, "by the way, Sasuke, you will need a turtleneck!"

"You bloody moron!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Silk-chan, please, talk to him. It's important for the team."

Silk clutched her katana and shook her head stubbornly.

"I'm always listening to him during missions, the team is perfectly fine," she muttered.

Ibara groaned and pushed his beret further down his head. Silk wasn't talking to Ryû and it was bad for the team spirit. No, that couldn't continue but Silk stood her ground and Ryû being his usual bratty self, refused to apologise and kept bragging all the time. Why was he the only one thinking about the team?

The cause of all his worries strolled toward them, waving to them with a broad smile as if the world was his. Ibara sighed.

"Silk! Ibara! Good morning! Isn't the sun beautiful today? It's making everything sparkle! Look even my body is sparkling!" he boasted, turning to let them see how the sun caught in his blond hair and shined in his golden eyes.

"What a show-offy ass," murmured Silk.

At that moment Naruto appeared, along with Sasuke, who kept pulling up his dark turtleneck sweater and had a deep frown. Their sensei kept giggling madly, leaning on his team-mate to walk.

"Your team's here," informed Sasuke, letting his cold gaze wander on them.

He was by far less scary during the day, and with his sword safely tied to his back. Yet a feeling of utter strength and danger emanated from him. He gave the impression that he could lash at someone in the blink of an eye, which wasn't far from the true.

Ryû was gaping openly, eyeing Sasuke with awe and then Naruto as if he didn't believe it.

"You're really his friend? Whoa! Is Sasuke-sama coming with us? Is he?" asked Ryû in a frenzy. He looked as he if he was about to tug at Naruto-sensei's sleeve like a five year old.

"No. Two Anbu aren't required for such a pitiful mission," admonished Sasuke already walking away.

Ryû actually looked ashamed of his blunder and cast his eyes down. Naruto caught Sasuke's wrist before he could leap on a tree. "Be careful," and without another thought he kissed him. Silk dropped her katana and yelped, kneeling to check if it had been damaged. Ryû's mouth hung open while he pointed at a scowling Sasuke and a grinning Naruto. Ibara shook his head.

"Thought so… wonder who's on the bottom…"

"But… but… but!" whined Ryû, still pointing at the now empty place.

"Well it's very common for ninja to be involved, you know," shrugged Ibara setting off after Naruto, already far ahead with Silk trotting behind him.

"Come on, Ryû. I know you're heartbroken but he's _mine_!" teased Naruto.

"You're so naïve sometimes, Ryû," pointed out Ibara.

"As long as they're happy," piped up Silk, gripping her katana lovingly.

Ryû pouted. Why weren't the others on his side? Sasuke-sama couldn't be with someone! And why did Silk keep holding that stupid sword? And he was sure that she was thinking of that dumbass Kakashi. Life was so unfair! He was such a sweet and gentle boy, why was everything against him?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Their mission was to obtain a scroll from a politician. To do so they were to escort a caravan and protect it from bandits and ninjas, as a cover. It was a known fact that some Rain ninjas had been hired to steal the merchandise. The mission was going smoothly so far, they had already resisted one attack. Ryû had concocted a very good plan to stay safely with the caravan's chief (as a last resort, _of course_) while Ibara lured the attackers to the traps that Silk had set on the spots Ryû suggested. Naruto-sensei just watched the show, giving some tips to his students, meaning Silk and Ibara since Ryû was only watching his plan unroll while sipping a nice cup of tea.

But that was until they set camp a night later and were attacked by a group of Chuunin. This time they hadn't had time to set traps. Naruto was dealing with most of the attackers letting his students take on one each. A clone was watching over them, just in case.

"We should split up," advised Ibara as their assailants closed in on them.

"What? Are you mad? W… what if you or Silk were attacked? We _have_ to stick together!"

Silk and Ibara exchanged a look, both knowing Ryû was the one who feared being attacked by surprise.

"Ok, Ibara use your blood to distract and confuse them. Silk, you sneak behind them. I…I'll stay here to watch your backs."

As he ordered them around he made two clones and set them on the assailants. Ibara followed, words of blood dancing in the air as the mortal rain dropped on his enemies. Silk crawled, katana tied to her back, shurikens and kunais ready.

But Ibara's rain didn't have the wanted effect, they were protected against it! They must have been present during the first fight. Silk, unaware of this unexpected turn, was taken between two fires. She had thrown shurikens at the two men coming at Ibara but the third had been waiting for her, diverting her weapons and slashing at her with his sword.

"Silk! Behind you!" screamed Ryû, lodging a kunai right at the man's leg.

That gave her enough time to dodge and fall on the muddy ground. Ibara knocked out one of his enemies but he still had one to deal with.

"Use your bloody katana!" ordered Ryû covering Ibara with some shuriken.

"N…no!" stuttered Silk eyes widening as the sword fell on her. Ryû threw a kunai that merely ricocheted on the man's sword. Silk raised her arms in a vain effort to protect herself. Ibara distracted by his worry didn't see his attackers coming closer and readying for the coming blow. Ryû stood frozen on the spot, closing his eyes, sure that his two friends were going to die.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto tied the four men that had attacked him and turned toward his team. They seemed to be dealing with the situation pretty well, even Ryû was fighting. Reassured he dispelled his clone and wondered if he should give them a hand.

That was when the situation changed, both Ibara and Silk were in danger, but Ryû seemed ready to help. Horrified Naruto watched as Ryû only threw weapons but didn't actually come to his team mates' aid. Holy shit!

Running as fast as he could he tried to make it in time to save Silk, who was sitting on the ground, her arms raised as a scream escaped her mouth. At the same time Ibara turned his head to see and missed the blow aimed at his shoulder. Shit!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû opened one eye to see if everyone was lying dead on the ground but was met with the sight of black silk, a red crest with a fan embroidered on it. He blinked. Ibara had fallen on his bottom, unscratched, and looked rather green as his attacker's blood drenched him, the latter lying unconscious at his feet.

His saviour had grabbed Silk around the waist and his sword was right under her attacker's throat, chidori blazing. The man had a look of utter bewilderment as blood swept from his mouth. Holding Silk tightly against him, Sasuke withdrew his sword and the man collapsed on the floor, relieving Naruto who had struck him from behind, making him faint. Realising his hold on Silk, Sasuke let his eyes turn back to dark and locked them on the shaking Ryû.

"Who gave you such a useless wimp?" he growled, speaking to Naruto.

A whimper escaped Ryû as tears ran down his cheek and he doubled over to throw up.

"Disgusting," snorted Sasuke, eyes as cold and cutting as ice. Ryû only sobbed harder and tried to wipe his lips, head low, still trembling.

"Don't be so harsh, he did his best," mumbled Naruto, checking on a thunderstruck Ibara.

Sasuke wiped his sword clean, crouched to nudge at the man, uncovering his forehead-protector. "Rain"

"Sasuke-sama!" shouted Silk.

Sasuke turned just in time to see Silk shelter him with her body as the ninja Ibara had knocked out earlier, aimed a kunai at him. Silk closed her eyes and bend over.

Time froze as the kunai reached Silk but simply passed through her as if she wasn't there. Sasuke snatched the kunai before it hit him and dashed toward the man. Naruto threw a kunai in front of him. Sasuke caught it with the tip of his sword and lashed it at the man. The latter dodged and began to form a seal. He hit the ground making it explode. Sasuke had already jumped and landed softly at his side, his hand hitting him neatly on the nape. He collapsed on the ground.

Naruto had reached Silk's side, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sasuke stared, puzzled, at her.

"What?" asked a rather stunned Silk, touching her stomach where the kunai had traversed her, but she wasn't wounded. Then reality hit her, "Sasuke-sama!" she yelped turning on her heel to see him standing next to her, safe.

Blinking she dropped on the floor and began to cry. "I'm… I'm not even… a-able to protect… myself… and… and… it w-went… thr-through me… i-it… could have… hit y-you! How… how can I… I protect… a lov-loved one… if it's… going… through m-me?"

Sasuke crooked an eyebrow at her. Naruto patted her awkwardly, "you've just discovered your power, Silk. Don't worry. You will be able to control it."

That only seemed to increase her sobbing. "I wanted… to protect him! But… I was… scared… and I thought… of saving my…own sk-skin… I'm s-such… a coward!"

"It's an instinctive reaction. It's normal. The important thing is that you tried to protect me. You're not a coward. Ryû is," replied Sasuke matter-of-factly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke had spared his opponent and thanks to him Ibara was whole. Naruto had been afraid Orochimaru had changed Sasuke, but he didn't. Sasuke still had respect for lives. Even killing Itachi hadn't changed that. Maybe because Sasuke knew the value of life, he had lost too many loved ones to kill blindly.

Naruto wished the mission had gone more smoothly. Ibara was still shocked. Silk kept sobbing. Ryû was the worst, he was crying _and_ totally shell-shocked. After putting Silk to bed in the women's tent and checking that Ibara and Ryû were both safely in theirs, Naruto went to his and Sasuke's tent.

"It's a disaster," he sighed, laying next to his lover.

"They will get over it."

"Thank you for saving them. Ibara would have been hurt without you even if I had gotten to Silk on time. By the way, not that I'm complaining or anything, but what are you doing here?"

"I finished my mission sooner than expected… since you're such a moron I came to check on you."

Naruto gave a predatory grin at Sasuke's back as he began to sneak behind him, like a feline ready to strike at his unsuspecting prey.

"You were worried? How cute of you, Sasuke!" he teased jumping on him and catching his lips in a heated kiss.

Sasuke wrapped an arm around him and opened his mouth, enjoying the feeling of Naruto's weight on him. But as Naruto's hands began to wander he broke the kiss, grasping at the hand aiming for a rather private area.

"The kids are in the next tent," he reminded.

"Ohhh don't be so motherly, Sasuke."

"I'm not! You little… hey!" protested Sasuke as Naruto wrenched open his yukata, yanking it to his belt. Naruto didn't seem to be listening as he kissed his nipple, making Sasuke squirm.

"If you give me a hickey, you're a dead man," warned Sasuke, tugging at Naruto's hair to pull him away.

Chuckling Naruto groped him making Sasuke bit his lips to stop a gasp from escaping. "For God's sake, _Naruto._"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara looked at Naruto-sensei's retreating back and sighed. He had never thought facing a near death experience would affect him this much. He hadn't even seen someone die and he was totally shocked. Damn! He thought he was stronger than that! In reality he was just a wimp! Angry he turned on his side, looking at Ryû's back. The later was huddled up, shivering slightly. At least Ryû accepted it. Ryû had always known he was a wimp, even if he showed off a lot, he knew it, he faced it. Ibara didn't even know!

Closing his eyes Ibara tried to shut off his mind. He needed sleep. Tomorrow he would be stronger for sure. He didn't have to worry Sasuke-sama and Naruto-sensei were next to them, nothing could happen.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Come on Sasuke, be nice for once," whined Naruto, trying to reach Sasuke's belt knot.

Smirking Sasuke kept his hold on Naruto, "Not here, not now, dobe."

"That's not fair. As soon as I get you in my bed we're both send on missions! I couldn't even take advantage of it! It's been too long since I've last seen you! Please?"

Seeing how he couldn't reach the belt, Naruto began to rub Sasuke's crotch with his knee, making the dark man writhe and bit his lips, eyes going even darker. "See? You want it too," he teased, blowing in Sasuke's ear, licking the ear-shell, his fingers brushing Sasuke's still restraining him.

"Of course I do," answered Sasuke kissing him and reversing their position. Grinning Naruto stopped trying to coax Sasuke, but his grin turned into a pout as Sasuke pinned him down, putting his yukata back on. "But not with kids _nearby._"

"Well you just have to keep quiet then," taunted Naruto.

Sasuke gave him a peck, smirking playfully, "I thought you wanted to hear me…"

Naruto huffed and sulked, earning a low laugh from his lover. "Don't be childish, if you're good I will let you snuggle, deal?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke, speechless. Hug him? Of course! Grinning broadly he stopped all advances and caught Sasuke, wrapping his arms around his chest and untangling their legs, letting Sasuke rest his back against his chest. With a content sigh he nuzzled his nose in Sasuke's hair. This was perfect.

"Can't believe you're so nice," he pointed out, humming a little.

"Well I forgot my blanket…"

"You bastard."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû couldn't sleep. Sasuke's words kept ringing in his head. They sounded so familiar. He could hear the reproaches and see his father's disappointment and disgust. It hurt that Sasuke-sama also felt that way. Yet he was glad that he was next to them, they were safe. Geez, he had saved them today. His idol was a lot less scary when he was on their side. Seeing how dark it was, the night was well begun. His mind was nagging at him, he had to talk to someone about this. It was eating him alive.

"Ibara?" silence "Ibara?" asked Ryû a little louder. Silence.

Ryû frowned, "Ibara? Are you sleeping?" he enquired once again, kicking Ibara's sleeping bag. Hard.

"_Was_ sleeping," muttered his friend, turning to face him, scowling. "What do you want?"

Ryû chewed his lips a little then shook his head, "nothing."

Ibara had to use all his self control not to throttle Ryû right there. Grumping he tried to go back to sleep. He was slowly drifting off when…

"Ibara?" asked Ryû giving another kick. Ibara bolted upright "What?"

Ryû fidgeted a little then turned on his side, "nothing, nothing. I will try to sleep, by the way don't shout that loud you could wake up the others."

Ibara squeezed his hand and began his usual mantra, "you're not supposed to kill you team mates, you're not supposed to kill you team mates, you're not supposed to kill you team mates." With a desperate groan he nudged Ryû, "Go on, I'm listening."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"What the hell are they doing?" muttered Sasuke, awoken by the sounds.

"I don't know. I think Ryû kicked Ibara… at least twice."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and grabbed Naruto's arm, draping it tighter around him as he went back to sleep.

"I think I will steal all your blankets," chuckled Naruto before wincing when he was elbowed.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"So?" inquired Ibara getting impatient.

Ryû seemed reluctant yet eager to talk about what was troubling him. He knew he could trust Ibara but it was a rather personal matter.

"It's nothing… really."

"You woke me up, it must be important," Ibara was getting worried. What was it all about? Was Ryû going to talk about his fears? Was that why he was so unwilling?

"You sure?"

"Come on, spit it out."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As Ibara and Ryû kept whispering, Sasuke's scowl was getting deeper.

"Won't they shut the hell up?" he snapped.

"Ryû seems worried, that's strange," answered Naruto.

A moment of silence passed before a "you sure?" was murmured. Sasuke groaned "Do I have to make them shut up?"

But Naruto clapped a hand on his mouth, leaning on him to get nearer of the child's tent. "Shhhh! I'm listening!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I…I love Silk…" whispered Ryû.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto's eyes widened and he stared at Sasuke who had his eyebrows raised high.

"He's got to be kidding, I mean, he's a total moron," commented Sasuke.

Naruto only crept nearer, holding his breath to hear everything.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara's mouth dropped a little. That wasn't what he had been expecting. Suddenly he was looking horribly serious.

"Ryû…"

"Yes?"

"I… have to tell you something…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hey, you think he loves her too?" wondered Naruto.

"I don't think so… but why not?" stated Sasuke, concentrating on the noises.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû's heart stopped. Oh no. Was Ibara also in love with her? Well she was such a nice and pretty girl. Shit. He had counted on Ibara to help him but now he would have to fight him. Damn all his plans were dead now!

"Yes?" he asked, not letting show how much he dreaded the answer.

"It's totally hopeless. She will never love you…"

Ryû groaned. Ibara had scared him! Couldn't he be serious for once? Ryû was getting tired of always being the one to think and plan everything. Really he was doing the entire job! Now that he needed some help, which was so very rare, Ibara couldn't seem to concentrate. As if Silk _could_ resist him! Really…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ibara's right. He's quite intelligent too, you know," pointed out Naruto.

"You don't have to be clever to see that Ryû is stupid," retorted Sasuke.

Naruto chuckled, nudging Sasuke.

"I'm still wondering how he managed to pass the exam. Well even you succeeded, so," mentioned Sasuke. He dodged Naruto's fist just in time.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Be serious! I love her. I know she's dying to yell her love for me, but I don't want to rush things."

Ibara rolled his eyes. "I think she's in love with Kakashi-sensei you know."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Is that true?" asked Sasuke, bewildered.

"Yeah, she's totally into him."

"At least he's better than Ryû."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"She will forget about that dumbass soon! How could she resist me?"

"Yeah… but why telling me then?" wondered Ibara.

"I want to seduce her properly and since you're the gentleman kind, I want you to help me by giving me some tips you see."

"What?"

"Now that that's settled, good night" was all that Ryû answered, patting Ibara on the shoulder, giving him a smile of complicity.

Ibara mentally sighed. What had he been dragged into this time? Poor him and poor Silk. Great, now he was going to have nightmares, such a horrible vision. Maybe Ryu had said that just to make him have a sleepless night, right?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ryû's worse than you said," remarked Sasuke, rolling on his back, the conversation seemed over.

"I can't believe he's going to try and seduce her. I mean she's still mortally angry at him for the blunder with Kakashi," stated Naruto as he turned on his stomach, dropping an arm on Sasuke and using his chest as a pillow, their legs untangling once again.

"I'm almost feeling sorry for Ibara," smirked Sasuke.

"I feel sorry for him. He just can't escape Ryû but he must be struggling with himself. He's such a protector of women. Silk is going to kill them. We've got to see that!"

"That sure promises to be interesting to watch," agreed Sasuke, closing his eyes.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Please don't forget to review

Tell me what you thought of the chapter! Reviews help writers!

Next chapter: Snakes


	2. Snakes

**Chapter 2: Snakes **

I will never say it enough, but thanks to my Beta.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

I would have put this chapter on Thursday but ff(dot)net didn't want to upload it… A big Thanks to Simple-minded idiot who told me how to updated this chapter without ff(dot)net working lol

I thank you all so so so so much! 24 reviews! I never got this many reviews for a chapter! I'm stunned! (group hug)  
I hope you will love this chapter! Please continue to review (smile)

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto felt something slide along his arm, making him shiver and giving him goosebumps. He groaned in his sleep and purred when he felt the touch grace his crotch.

"Mmm Sasuke, I thought you were against this sort of activities with children nearby…" he mumbled, sighing as the touch didn't stop. Grinning he reached for Sasuke's hand, and screamed.

Sitting bolt upright he moved away, heart pounding wildly. He was going to kill the bastard! It wasn't Sasuke's hand that had been trailing over his body. It was a fucking bloody _snake_, which gave him an almost smug look as it slid toward the tent's exit.

Cursing Naruto caught the snake right behind the head and dragged himself, still in his sleeping pants, out to hunt for his bastard of a lover, all the while keeping the snake as far away from him as he could. The thing was hissing dangerously and kept trying to bite him or to wind around his arm. Spotting his team mate he strolled toward him.

Sasuke was surrounded by snakes that had wrapped themselves around his body and hissed gently. He was petting them. Seeing Naruto approaching he bid them goodbye, "you did well, give my respects to Manda." In a puff of smoke all the snakes disappeared.

Naruto, held the snake for Sasuke to see, shook it to finally almost throw it in Sasuke's face at the lack of reaction.

"Bastard."

"Morning to you too, dobe," answered Sasuke smirking.

"May I _inquire_ what this," Naruto shook the snake "was doing molesting me in my sleep?"

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "Molesting you?"

"Yes!" huffed Naruto, puffing his chest, shaking the snake once again as if to emphasize his point.

The Uchiha looked at the hissing snake and raised his hand, taking it. Naruto's eyes narrowed as the thing sneaked around his lover's arm, almost suavely, turning once toward him and flicking its tongue as if to nag him. At last, the snake smoothly wrapped around Sasuke's neck. This wasn't fair! Naruto wanted to touch Sasuke too! Damn! He was getting jealous of a freaking snake.

"Really? I would say it was rather the other way around, seeing as you can't stop looking at it with such intensity."

"Wha…!"

"Or are you jealous?" asked Sasuke smugly. Not waiting for Naruto's cry of indignation, Sasuke gently scratched the snake's head with a finger. It disappeared as a fuming Naruto tried to snatch it.

"Naruto, you were glad to have them stand guard yesterday," pointed out Sasuke, checking the fire he lit for breakfast. "You're lucky it didn't bite you."

At this Naruto began to grin, lying on his lover to nibble his ear but being stopped by a stick conveniently placed between them.

"Not that it would have been a huge loss," ended Sasuke with a smirk.

Naruto scowled and grabbed some ramen.

"I'll come to haunt you!" threatened Naruto, stealing Sasuke's hot water for his ramen and earning an angry slap on his hands.

"Great! I wanted a pet," retorted the Uchiha shoving Naruto out of his way as he put more water to heat for his rice and miso soup.

"A pet?" questioned Naruto, blinking, chopsticks stilled in wonder.

Sasuke merely nodded, slicing and cutting some vegetables and fish.

"A PET?" shrieked Naruto, poking Sasuke with his chopsticks.

Snatching away the offensive 'weapon', Sasuke resumed his cooking, "yes since I can't have a snake a ghost sounds fine."

"I'm going to give you nightmares! And I will keep talking and talking!" bawled Naruto trying unsuccessfully to grab back his chopsticks.

"Nothing new… can't be worse than the actual ones," bantered Sasuke, still holding the confiscated device out of reach.

"Which?" growled Naruto almost climbing on his team mate and gripping his arm to try and make him lower his hand.

"Both, your talking and the nightmares," sniggered Sasuke, pushing Naruto away in order to make his onigiri.

"TEME!" yelled Naruto, seizing Sasuke's chopsticks as retaliation and immediately resuming his eating, gulping down his beloved ramen.

Sasuke snatched them back, scowling as he gave Naruto his own back, which made him look very smug. "It's unhygienic," commented Sasuke using some hot water to clean his chopsticks.

Naruto rolled his eyes, gulped and shook his dripping chopsticks toward Sasuke, letting some sauce drop on the ground under Sasuke's unfriendly gaze. The latter stepped back a little to protect his clothes. "Come on, it's the same as kissing me… which you do," purred Naruto as he licked his lips.

"You're right," Naruto began to glow, "maybe I should reconsider that kissing thing," ended Sasuke making Naruto swear under his breath.

"Do that and I'm shoving them up your ass! Now _that_ would be unhygienic," warned Naruto through a mouthful of ramen.

Sasuke made a disgusted face as he began to eat too, "and _I'm_ the one who's not romantic?"

"Morning Naruto-sensei, Sasuke-sama," mumbled a half asleep yet fully dressed Silk.

"M'ning", answered Naruto as he started his second bowl.

She sat next to him, rubbing her slightly puffy eyes.

"Good morning, Silk," was Sasuke's response as he gave her some onigiri and soup. She thanked him softly before whispering "Itadakimasu" and then started eating.

Soon Ibara and Ryû came to join them. Both were still in their pyjamas. Ibara had his beret skewed on his head and was supporting a half asleep Ryû. Tossing his hair a little Ryû aimed to sit next to Silk and Ibara followed.

Sasuke rose to take some rice and sat right next to Silk, making it impossible for the boys to sit next to her. Naruto eyed him slightly amused. Ryû gladly sat next to his idol and helped himself to some breakfast.

"Silk, it's delicious," praised Ibara.

"Sasuke-sama cooked, not me," explained Silk blushing as dark eyes settled on her for a brief moment and stopped a little on the katana tied to her back.

"Oh no wonder it's so good then! Incomparable!" boasted Ryû.

Naruto began to chuckle as Silk bent her head. Ibara rolled his eyes. Ryû was a lost case. How was he supposed to help him seduce her if he always belittled her? And without even noticing it.

"What?" asked a bemused Ryû as a deathly silence fell. He then tried to make conversation with Sasuke but was totally ignored, sighing he instead started to talk with his sensei and Ibara.

Naruto dropped more food in Silk's bowl, as he took a bit for himself. Two bowls of Ramen weren't enough and Sasuke's cooking was too good to resist.

"I'm not that hungry, Naruto-sensei," piped in Silk.

"You have to eat to get stronger," advised Sasuke and Silk began to eat.

Ryû having heard that took another bowl of rice, some fish and other food, eyeing Sasuke to have his approval. Sasuke didn't spare him a glance.

"You will get fat," pointed out Sasuke. Naruto had to bite his lips not to howl with laughter as Ryû looked as a puppy that had just been kicked.

Naruto turned back toward Silk and pointed to her katana. "You've got to learn how to use it." That would help her. Even Kakashi-sensei had mentioned that it would be good if she learned.

Silk began to fidget a little, untying the sword to press it against her heart. Ryû snorted and was immediately elbowed by Ibara.

"I can't," muttered Silk.

"Why? Sasuke could teach you, he's very good at it," remarked Naruto.

Sasuke groaned and shrugged. Silk only tightened her hold on the katana, shaking her head.

"Why is it so important to you? Isn't it an Anbu sword?" inquired Naruto. Maybe he was wrong and it was a family treasure or something. It could be the source of her power too.

Silk nodded, her cheeks growing red. Sasuke gave a fast look toward Naruto as an idea crossed his mind. Girls…

"Kakashi's?" asked Sasuke, patting himself on the back as Silk turned bright red.

Naruto gaped at her. "No way! It's Kakashi's Anbu sword? He gave it to you?"

Silk sank a bit more as if to disappear. But all the attention was now directed to her. She had to give them an explanation; they would never let it go otherwise. She took a big breath.

"I was very young and it was late at night. Since I'm an orphan nobody was waiting for me at home."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged an understanding look.

"I was out late at night because I had lost my cat, Gouzie." (1)

Ryû scrunched his face, glaring at Ibara who was snickering just like Naruto.

"Yes the one who clawed at Ryû when he tried to sneak in to scare me."

"Good cat," congratulated Sasuke.

"And I couldn't find it. Then a man appeared out of nowhere and asked me what I was doing alone in the night. I explained to him about my cat and…"

"Oh dear! He must have helped you find it and that's why you're all head over heels for him now," sniggered Ryû earning a kick from Ibara.

"Well no, he didn't! He said it was dangerous for me to be there, that I should go home because my cat wouldn't want me hurt and that it would come back by itself because it must truly love me since I was such a caring master!"

Ryû huffed and applied himself to sulk.

"But then he nearly fell on me. And two other men appeared and helped him. He was badly hurt and they took him away… but he dropped his katana. I picked it up to give it back to him. The problem was I didn't know his name… years later I saw him at the cemetery but… but… I… I didn't dare interrupt him… I mean it's private… and… even if I know his name now… I tried… but… er…"

"You're too shy to give it back?" provided Naruto, smiling fondly, that was so like his little Silk-chan. Well that explained why she wouldn't use it. It wasn't hers. Damn Kakashi, he must have guessed it but of course he wouldn't tell.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Silk nodded, blushing madly. Yet something bothered him, he had been observing her body language for some tips. She wasn't lying but she was definitely hiding something. He even caught a glance sent his way. Was it something about Itachi? Whatever, he didn't give a damn about all this.

Ryû was biting his lower lip, trying desperately not to laugh but finally couldn't help himself and started howling with laughter, holding his ribs and trying desperately to catch his breath as tears of laughter clung to his eyelids.

Ibara tried to make him stop. "Don't laugh! You don't have the right to laugh at a lady's heart!" seeing as it was ineffective he leaned closer and whispered, "and that's _not_ how you're going to seduce her." That seemed to do the trick. Ryû slowly calmed down.

"I'll teach you. Kakashi asked me to." And he could at least do that for his former teacher. He didn't mind teaching Silk, she loved Itachi. He wondered why. Maybe training her would help him discover the reason.

"Really?" asked Silk in awe, eyes sparkling. Sasuke gave a curt nod before standing to talk to Naruto who had waved for him to come.

"I'm going in town with some of the traders. I will try to collect some information for the mission," informed Naruto as Sasuke settled near him.

"Fine. I will take care of the kids. You have something in particular you want me to teach them?"

Naruto grinned, "Yep. Walking on water. They already did the tree-climbing."

"And why are you grinning like an idiot?"

"Ryû will surprise you."

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, lips stretching into a devious smirk. "What? He actually knows how to swim?"

A very angry yell stopped their bantering.

"RYU!"

Ryû had been trying to be forgiven for all his blunders. Ibara had been supporting him as much as he could, arguing with Silk while helping her wash the dishes ("a woman couldn't be left to do everything alone."). Then, seeing as all his 'efforts' were met with failure, Ryû had opted for the 'make her laugh' trick and had snatched away Ibara's beret.

Sasuke turned toward the kid, a little startled and blinked. Naruto felt his jaw hit the ground. Here was Ryû laughing and strutting with Ibara's beret, Silk on his heels trying to snatch it back as Ibara was red from anger and shame, clumsily covering his head… his bald head.

"So that's why he's always wearing it," mused Naruto.

Sasuke stood and grabbed Ryû's wrist, giving back the beret to Ibara who hurriedly put it back on, almost pulling it in front of his eyes. He glared at Ryû, holding his beret with both hands, and cursing.

"Lame," stated Sasuke looking at Ryû, who lowered his head.

Naruto sighed. Ryû was as tactless as always. He wondered how he would beat some sense into him.

Silk tried to coax Ibara to look at her but he wouldn't face her. Defeated she finally left him and finished cleaning up, glaring at Ryû.

"Come on, Ibara," murmured Ryû looking sorry.

"You promised…" growled Ibara.

"You don't have to be ashamed of it. It's not a defect to be bald. Some guys even shave their head. We really don't care you know, and it suits you… really."

At this Ibara raised his head a little. Sasuke was listening seeming for once satisfied with Ryû. That was until the latter opened his mouth again, "not everyone one can have beautiful shining hair like mine, you know! Don't be jealous!"

Ibara kicked him hard and left to the tent to get dressed. Silk showered Ryû with the garbage and left too.

Naruto shook his head. He had expected something like that. Ryû bothered him, he wasn't mean on purpose, but everything seemed like a façade with him… something was definitely off. He would have to dig a little to know why he acted like that. Sasuke seemed to have caught the idea too and didn't interfere.

Strangely Ryû didn't have to be told to pick up the trash. He did it in silence.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke had sort of a problem. A problem named Team 5. Inwardly sighing he let his eyes trail on them.

Problem number one: big eyes full of stupid and unconditional admiration, small body restless in eager expectation. Not a single trace of remorse for what had happened this morning. Not even troubled by the angry looks of his team mates. Ryû.

Problem number two: beret firmly pushed on the head, hiding even the eyebrows. Arms firmly crossed as he kept an eye on Ryû, but the latter was the only person he would face. Ibara.

Problem number three: fidgeting each time he let his eyes grace her and glaring dangers at Ryû and back to fidgeting if she looked at Ibara. Oh yes sometimes reaching behind her to touch her katana, of course. Silk.

He had to train them. Without killing them, had specified Naruto. Great.

"Since I don't know exactly how much you're worth…" Ryû puffed his chest, looking superior "even if I know some of you are useless," Sasuke let his eyes rest on Ryû until he saw him slightly curl up.

"I will test you separately. In the meantime the other two will try to walk on water. I warn you, I'm strict. I want your best. I won't go easy on you. I won't refrain from beating you up. When I'm done with you, sleep will be the only thing you will have strength for. So who's first?"

A heavy silence fell. They had lowered their eyes and stopped moving, even breathing. Did he look _that_ scary?

"Well? The beret? The boasting scaredy-cat? The clinging-to-my-katana girl?"

Getting no answers, Sasuke rolled his eyes and bit his finger, making the familiar hand seals. In a puff of smoke Manda appeared, as gigantic as ever. On his body still laid the trace of Naruto's jutsu.

"What?" snapped the snake not looking at Sasuke. The latter raised his hand to touch the scar but Manda moved its tail, head still held high. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk, it seemed like the snake had missed him and was… sulking?

"Whoa! Awesome!" yelled Ryû, eyes bulged and mouth gaping.

"Is that a King invocation?" whispered Ibara, impressed.

"Does he do the sloughing of the skin?" asked Silk all innocence.

Manda huffed and looked them up and down. Who were those tiny little shits? Really what had the Uchiha called him for? Seems like he hadn't needed him until now. Why did he have to help him if it wasn't for battle? It wasn't as if he cared for the man.

"Can I mount him? I would look great standing on him!"

Sasuke sniggered as Manda straightened up, hanging over Ryû. Two pretentious people together were sure entertaining. Oblivious, Ryû just kept boasting. At least Manda wasn't angry anymore about having been left behind for some time. Sasuke never had thought such a proud character would get so attached to him.

"Sasuke, who are these weaklings?"

Sasuke considered the question. Who were they?

"Naruto's students," he ventured.

"The Blond?" Manda's eyes darted to its tail, taking in the small nod Sasuke gave him. So the Uchiha was taking care of the blond's students? He would have to investigate just how much closer they had gotten… not that he really cared. He was just curious about who interested his invocator.

"I'm no weakling! Ibara's not bad either."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. Well, that was sort of an apology.

"Of course it's a common mistake. I'm hiding my strength just like Sasuke-sama," continued Ryû. "By the way, such a gigantic animal at my service would fit me just right. Don't you think so Sasuke-sama? I'm such a good ninja that this animal would feel very grateful to have me as a master."

"Humans like you are only fit to be my breakfast! You poor little pathetic being! You shouldn't even be allowed to look at me!"

A gasp of indignation escaped Ryû, who glared at the snake and turned toward his team mates for support. They were actually nodding, agreeing wholeheartedly with the snake.

"At least those two know their place," offered Manda as acknowledgment.

Ryû opened his mouth and then looked at Sasuke for back up. Manda hissed in anger and curled possessively around Sasuke, teeth bared.

"Nor should you be permitted to approach my caster! Dirty mongrel!"

"What? What are you? His mother? Sasuke-sama what's that shitty Snake doing here? I mean really, you should put it back in the dumpster. Such stupid and useless creatures, no _things,_ should only serve to make gloves."

That was the last straw for Manda who simply swooped down on Ryû, swallowing him whole in one gulp. Sasuke blinked staring at Manda licking its lips.

"Silence is such a blessing," he muttered, smirking.

"But poor Manda-sama, Ryû must taste awfully sour, or maybe rotten?" mentioned Silk, looking truly sorry for the Snake king.

"How sensible of you, he does have an aftertaste of awful sweetness."

"That must be the hair," pointed out Silk.

Sasuke and Ibara chuckled, Silk smiled at them, glowing. In the meantime they could barely distinguish some yelling.

"Maybe we should let him out," wondered Ibara, not looking particularly thrilled.

"Manda, spit him out."

Manda obliged, letting a totally shocked Ryû, all sticky, drenched in stomach acid and smelling awful.

"You need some… cleaning," snorted Sasuke. "Well, Silk I will start with you. Guys you try to walk on water. Don't forget what you learned with the tree and what the moron tried to explain to you this morning. I will check on your progress. Manda, keep an eye on them, would you?"

"What? I have to baby sit them?"

"Yes. Eat Ryû if he's bothering Ibara or slacking off."

Manda looked smug at the idea and curled on the ground, eyes not leaving Ryû, who gulped nervously.

"And… and what if Ibara is the one bothering me?" mumbled Ryû.

Sasuke pondered the question for a moment, while motioning to Silk to hide for their exercise.

"That's right, Manda if Ibara does that help him."

And he disappeared in a puff of smoke as Ryû shrieked.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(1) Pronounced: "goozie."

Thanks again for reviewing! Please continue, it's really helping me and it makes me happy.

Next chapter: Training.


	3. Training

**Chapter ****3: Training**

I will never say it enough, but thanks to my Beta.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

Well I hope this chapter isn't too boring… but I had to write it. I don't really like it though.

Thanks for reviewing. Please continue, I really need you.

This chapter has a lot of Team 5 because I need to set (introduce) them. But don't worry Naruto and Sasuke are still the main characters! Even if you will see a lot of Team 5 too…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Still smirking Sasuke entered the clearing and dropped on the ground as two trunks came barging in. He dug his blade in the ground just in time to stop himself from dropping as the floor crumbled under him. As he hoisted himself up, he sighed. A trunk was plunging toward him. With one swing of his katana combined with Chidori he settled the problem.

"Silk, I didn't ask you to set traps all over the place… it's not an exam. Leave your bush and come here."

Blushing madly and apologising as if her life depended on it, Silk, head hung low, stepped in front of him and began to fidget, unable to stay still. Crushed against her breast was her katana.

"That's not how you're supposed to hold it."

Silk immediately released her hold and crouched in a fighting position, her gaze at last meeting Sasuke's. She drew her sword and placed it in front of her. Something had changed; the shy girl had disappeared to give place to a focused and confident young lady. She had put her personality aside a little and the shinobi in her was now showing. She must have observed Sasuke using his sword because she had placed her hands perfectly.

"Straighten up a little. You must be ready to parry or attack, don't leave an opening. By being this bent you will loose precious seconds."

Silk immediately corrected her posture but wavered a little, she was less at ease and her stability wasn't good. She raised her head, waiting for a comment. Sasuke using his scabbard tapped her ass, making her straighten her spine, then he tapped her knee, she drew it back and noticed she was perfectly stable now.

"Train your stability. Don't forget you can use chakra."

Silk nodded and then gasped as her teacher's sword brushed her nose. Jumping backward she stared puzzled at Sasuke but was met with his sword. She was parrying all she could but already some blood was trickling down her body. They were only small cuts, but they were all a mark of her failure. She took a deep breath and concentrated, backing away, dodging, parrying. She was using chakra in her legs to be faster, to go farther and on her feet to keep her balance.

Sasuke didn't give her time to react, but she was sure he was moving very slowly for her. As time went by she began to get some tips by watching Sasuke's movements and less cuts marked her body. Still she had trouble parrying some attacks, which came more often. Sasuke would push until she got the hint. And he wouldn't explain, because it was always easier to remember when you found the answer yourself. And in a real fight, your adversary wouldn't tell you. Suddenly she realized Sasuke was holding his sword with only one hand most of the time! She followed his silent advice and her katana was flung out of her grasp.

Sasuke didn't stop attacking, rolling on the floor she tried to reach her katana, Sasuke's sword digging in the floor just next to her many times, preventing her from retrieving it. At last she picked up her sword and could once again parry, this time paying close attention to the solidity of her hold on the katana.

"Attack."

But she didn't have time to. Loosing her concentration she missed the blow and screamed as Sasuke's sword fell on her to stop just in time, drawing only a small trail of her blood. She dropped on the floor, breathing hard.

Sasuke sheathed is katana and looked at Silk. She was a natural. He would have to go even slower with his movements, but he didn't mind. She was studying his moves and slowly integrating them. Her chakra control wasn't very good; learning to walk on water would be a very good training. An idea emerging in his mind he drew his sword once again, Silk immediately raised and crouched in a neutral position. Sasuke let a small smile outline his lips; she had already corrected her position.

Instead of keeping his previous pace or slowing down, Sasuke increased it a little. Silk couldn't parry at all but kept trying her best, not minding the new scratches on her already beaten body. Sasuke then delivered a blow that would be mortal if she didn't dodge, she tried but didn't success yet. She didn't close her eyes as the sword swooped down on her, as expected the blade only graced her neck, stopping in time. Silk blinked as Sasuke frowned, had she disappointed him? Damn… she was so lame! Maybe he wouldn't want to train her anymore. Silk hung her head, feeling bad. She had thought she was doing ok until Sasuke increased his pace. He was angry at her; she could see his furrowed eyebrows.

"I…sorry…" she whispered.

"You trust me too much," muttered Sasuke.

"I'm sorry! I will do better!"

Sasuke looked at her strangely. Why had she shattered all of a sudden? Processing rapidly what had happened he caught up. Kids. She needed a form of acknowledgment. Damn kids. A memory of a younger him trying desperately to please his father brushed his mind. The word left his mouth before fully reaching his mind.

"You did fine with the katana."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. The girl had touched one of his… soft spots. She was triggering memories and she was linked to Itachi to some extent. He had to tune her out. He couldn't afford to be soft with anyone but Naruto. And Silk couldn't protect herself. Sasuke protected Team 5 because Naruto was attached to them and he didn't want to get attached to them as well. Getting attached to weaklings meant getting hurt one day. He had had his share of hurt already; he wasn't going to lay himself open to suffering. Getting attached to people meant taking the risk of losing them; it was a gift and a curse, a kind of mistake you had to make. Getting attached to people who weren't able to take care of themselves was even worse.

Silk blinked. He seemed even angrier now, but he had praised her. Had she forced him to praise her? Silk bit her lip. She shouldn't have asked for reassurance; it had just made her teacher angry. Instinctively she clutched her katana against her small frame and earned a glare from Sasuke. Blushing she put it back on her back.

"Your power."

Silk's head jerked up. He seemed calmer now.

"Learn how to use it."

"How?" asked Silk before widening her eyes, clapping a hand to her mouth, blushing. She was going to make him angry again!

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"_Aniki aniki! Look!"_

_The kid threw a kunai that hit its target perfectly. Glowing he turned toward his brother who for once was with him. In fact Itachi had been training on his own when Sasuke had joined him._

"_Your angle is a little off. Fix it." _

"_How?" had asked Sasuke before clamping a hand on his mouth, blushing a little. He shouldn't have asked! He had to find the answer by himself._

_Itachi had smirked at him, amused.__ Then he had poked his head before going back into the house. Sasuke had massaged his forehead muttering, a full blown smile on his lips. _

"Find that yourself," he replied.

Without another word, Sasuke left to get the other two. Silk trotted behind him, already listing in her mind the exercises she would have to do. She would have to tend to her wounds too before starting to walk on water.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manda had to admit that Ryû wasn't as unworthy as he had first thought. And he wasn't as bratty as it seemed either. Sasuke would surely start to appreciate him. This team seemed nice. Yawning a little, Manda wondered why he let Sasuke order him around like that. Here he was, the King of Snakes playing babysitter… Damn! Ryû was doing it again. Showing off! Raising Manda hissed toward the camp, a concert of yelps and people running away answered him. Ryû scowled at him, waving his arm threateningly before gulping nervously as Manda bared its fangs.

Resuming its curling position Manda watched as Ryû and Ibara went back to serious training. He had to keep the traders from watching them train; otherwise Ryû would start trying to impress them.

"No, no, Ibara, you have to concentrate!" began Ryû coming to help Ibara who had water up to his knees. He abruptly stopped speaking as he saw Sasuke and… was that Silk? Coming back. Mouth falling open, he lost his concentration and sank straight to the bottom.

As Ibara hoisted him up, a snort from his idol greeted him. Manda hissed a little and followed Sasuke with its eyes. Silk was given a first-aid kit.

"What did you do to her?" shrieked Ryû as he wringed his clothes. Silk was covered in mud and blood, unrecognisable.

"Training," snapped Sasuke. "Who is coming with me now?"

"Bet it isn't Ryû. He's too scared to be beaten up," whispered Silk.

Ryû pushed Ibara forward. "Him! I need to train more on the water!"

"What? You liar!" accused Ibara, scowling even as he joined Sasuke. Scratching Manda a little Sasuke finally waved at Ibara to follow him into the clearing.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara didn't need to be told to attack. He didn't hesitate to use his power either, but he relayed a little too much on it. Indeed his chakra control wasn't very good. It was only a little better than Silk's. Strangely Ibara was better fitted for protection while Silk was better at attacking.

Ibara used one of his cuts to draw blood and attack Sasuke. The latter dismissed the attack with a Katon Jutsu and swooped down on Ibara, who tried to grab a kunai with his feet using chakra but realized that he couldn't. His chakra control wasn't good enough when he was low on chakra. He had used too much of his power. And they had only been training for a few minutes!

"One man trick," pointed out Sasuke.

"Yeah… I used too much chakra. I mustn't rely too much on my blood ability. I have to train my chakra control and improve my aim."

Sasuke didn't reply. The kid had found his flaws on his own, all Sasuke had to do was corner him during the training. Yet, something bothered him.

"Can you use your blood only to make rain?"

"Er… yes… I think. I can only control the concentration of poison in it when it's in rain form."

Sasuke smirked slightly, "water jutsu."

Ibara stared and then it clicked. Why hadn't he thought of that sooner? Doing a water jutsu using his blood. That gave him lots of new possibilities. Eagerly he jumped on his feet, looking at Sasuke expectantly.

Sasuke smirked. Naruto had picked a very good team, and he had trained them well. Not that he would ever tell him.

"Ryû," mentioned Sasuke.

Ibara grew dark and muttered a little, upset that he couldn't train more since Sasuke had to take care of Ryû too. Then he clapped his hands and ran towards the camp. Chakra control first! It would help with all of his other jutsu.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manda was bored. Deadly bored. Scaring the hell out of the traders wasn't fun anymore. Maybe he should eat Ryû? Not that he was particularly tasty, but it might take care of his boredom. From the corner of its eye, Manda saw Silk approaching and grew slightly suspicious.

"Manda-sama?" inquired Silk, bowing a little.

Fine. He would listen. He glared at her but didn't hiss.

"Could you help me train?"

This was an unusual request. Manda was too curious to refuse.

"Speak your mind," he hissed.

"I… I'm not very good at balance and I'm tired of walking on water. Could you let me train on you for my balance?"

Manda bared its teeth. "I'm not a balancing beam!"

"Of course you're not! A beam is far too easy to keep balance on. On the other hand, since you're used to battle, trying to keep my balance on you or run on you while you're moving, is a challenge. I would just ask you to go easy on me; I need lots of practice before you can use all your strength."

That might be interesting. Fine. He would help. If she was bothering him, he would just eat her. Raising he waited for her to climb on him. But instead on climbing on him, she bent and took off her shoes.

"You should keep them on. It's easier without shoes."

Silk seemed shocked. "I can't run on you with these dirty shoes, Manda-sama!" she exclaimed.

Finally, someone who showed him the respect he deserved. Maybe he wouldn't eat her after all. As soon as she climbed on him, he started moving. She fell really fast but caught herself on the water and climbed back, this time keeping her balance longer. This was a good exercise, it made her practice her balance and walking on water at the same time.

"You're no good Silk!" snickered Ryû who was standing on water using only one finger. The kid was really good at chakra control. This exercise was too easy for him.

Disturbed by the remark Silk fell and sank in the water, her clothes clinging to her. Ryû blinked. Her clothes were molding to her body. Engrossed in his contemplation he nearly missed the huge tail coming his way.

"Whaaa! You stupid Snake!" realizing what he had said he tentatively looked at Manda. Silk was training on him… he wouldn't dare? Right?

Mada bared its teeth. Walking on water was far too easy for the stupid blond show-off. He could even afford to be distracted. Manda was here to help them train, right? It was his _duty_. So he would have to help him train too. That was the only reason why he was trying to eat him… only to help him train. It was a very good exercise to protect oneself from being eaten; he had to keep both his concentration and his chakra control. Yes Manda was really too nice. Too bad the kid wasn't fast enough. Manda caught him and swallowed.

"Manda, spit him out!" demanded Sasuke, who had just come back.

Ibara had forgotten that he had to treat his wounds. He was already back on the water, trying to stand on it rather than keeping a precarious balance with water up to his knees.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

To say he was surprised was an understatement. Now he understood what Naruto had meant. Ryû had brains, that much was evident. He was able to think up incredible plans (especially to avoid partaking in a fight). Sasuke had thought that was his only ability, since cowardice wasn't one but he had been wrong. They had been training for a long time already and Ryû had almost no scratches. He was good.

As a shuriken came his way, Ryû ran up a tree, ready to dodge it but more followed. He gave a small punch to the tree and using chakra attached himself to a branch while making hand-seals for clones. Most of the shuriken were taken care of that way. Ryû made the seal and switched once again with one of his clones. Sasuke, without using the Sharingan, had already discovered who the real one was. He threw kunais and shurikens, using steel threads to direct them this time.

Ryû jumped to escape them and didn't even gasp when the weapons followed his movements; he seemed to have predicted it. In mid-jump he caught two kunai by collecting chakra on his feet. He cut the thread with a kunai laced with chakra and made a back flip, giving momentum to the kunai before throwing them towards Sasuke. Just before landing he caught two more weapons with chakra in his hands and aimed them at Sasuke. As soon as he touched the ground, the remaining shuriken and kunai pinned him there.

Sasuke dodged the first kunai and only his speed made him able to dodge the second one, that was deadly aimed. That had been very well thought. Even if Ryû had been caught he could have injured his attacker and bought himself or his team mates some time to release him. Sasuke looked at the pinned down Ryû who was breathing heavily but seemed utterly proud. Sasuke would never tell him, but he could be proud of his performance.

Ryû was the strongest of the team. Who would have guessed that? His aim was perfect, his taijutsu and jutsus average, his chakra control amazing and he was able to make impressive plans. Yet in battle he wouldn't move. He would do everything in his power to not take part in the battle and only when it was inevitable he would throw something. This was the heart of the problem, Ryû was a wimp. He had been able to give his best here because he wasn't in danger.

Sasuke freed Ryû and eyed him. Ryû didn't have many wounds; he really was the strongest of the three. He was looking at him, a small smile, almost shy, on his lips. Hope and pride were showing in his gold orbs. He obviously knew he had done well.

"You should be ashamed," stated Sasuke, looking down on him, eyes cold.

Ryû shivered and took a step back. Surprise was written all over his face. "But…"

Sasuke cut him off, "skills in training are nothing if you can't use them in battle. You're what I call trash. You're able to help your team but you don't. Yesterday Silk and Ibara could have died. You had the strength to save them but you didn't. You're lame."

Sasuke left towards the lake fisting his hands, anger building inside of him. Sasuke would have given everything to have had the strength to save his family. He could have forgiven Ryû for being a wimp, but not anymore. Not when Ryu had the power to protect people and didn't use it. This he couldn't forgive. Just like he couldn't forgive people who tested their powers on weaker beings, like Orochimaru and… Itachi.

This was inexcusable. Sasuke had been told to survive, to live miserably and yet when his team had been in danger, he had risked his life to protect them because he had the power to do it. He wouldn't blame a person who was too scared to act because they didn't have power, but Ryû had the power and he _knew_ it.

Ryû bit his lips. Sasuke-sama was right and he would never love him or be proud of him. Ryû would only be a burden, just like he was for his father. All joy destroyed, he walked behind Sasuke, not even daring to look at his back. He didn't deserve to even glimpse at such a man.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara helped Silk out of the water; neither had any strength left. As he did so, he lowered to whisper to her without Manda hearing.

"I'm sure Ryû is going to come back totally depressed. I mean Sasuke-sama is going to be so angry when he notices Ryû's strength… maybe you could bury the hatchet just for today?"

"Are you going to forgive him for the beret?" answered Silk.

Ibara tugged on the particular piece of clothing and mumbled, "He sort of apologized you know…"

Silk stared at Ibara, shaking her head. "If he doesn't understand that it's important for you, he will do it again."

"No, I think he's got the point and you know? I've always been with him and he's really nice but… he's a bit… er… he acts that way because of his father. He's had a hard past and it's still hard now and…"

"That explains a lot but that doesn't excuse him," affirmed Silk wringing her clothes "I mean, you won't forgive a rapist because he was raped when he was younger, would you? Some people have the strength to surpass this, some don't. Past is an explanation, not an excuse."

Ibara blinked. Silk was asserting herself more and more. Silk had started making dinner when Sasuke came back, a depressed Ryû not far behind. Ibara hesitated for a moment but finally decide to listen to Silk. He wouldn't move.

Ryû glanced at them but didn't say anything and went inside the tent. Ibara crushed his desire to go talk to him; he hated to see Ryû like that. Concentrating on the cooking he nearly jumped out of his skin when Ryû appeared next to him, helping him out. This was a first.

"You know… I'm really sorry about this morning. And for yesterday too."

Ibara's head jerked up and he cursed silently. Damn! Silk wasn't here! She had just left. She had to see this side of Ryû too.

"Tell that to Silk for me," whispered Ryû.

So he had waited for her to leave, Ibara should have known. Ryû saw apologizing as a weakness and Ibara was the only one who had the right to see this part of him. Ryu boasted to hide his self-loathing, Ibara could swear to it.

"Tell her yourself," answered a voice from behind them. Sasuke-sama's.

Ryû's eyes widened and he hung his head low, but Sasuke had already left. Ibara nudged him.

"Don't be ashamed! It's not being weak. And it shows you're taking his advice. It's a good point don't you think?"

Ryû gave him a small smile.

"But I'm still not forgiving you for the beret," added Ibara, despite his grin.

"What? Oh… I get it! You're jealous of Silk! And you're trying to catch my attention!"

"Jealous? About what? And no I'm not trying to catch your attention!"

Ryû smiled deviously, almost with a hint of compassion. "I know your secret Ibara… you're in love with me! That's why you're doing nothing to help me with Silk! I knew it. Nobody can resist my charm. To think you love me. Really Ibara, I know it's hard, but since you love me so much, you want to see me happy, right? Then help me with Silk."

"RYU!" yelled Ibara, trying to hit him. Well at least he was back to normal.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Naruto returned he found his team asleep, Ibara in the middle, Ryû leaning on him and Silk curled up with her katana on the other side. They were dirty, covered in bandages, and obviously dead tired. What had the Bastard done to them? And where was said bastard?

"Oy! Teme!" yelled Naruto as he entered the forest after leaving some clones to guard the camp. Just in case, even if he knew Sasuke had secured the perimeter. He stopped when he found Sasuke by the lake with his feet in the water and Manda's head on his lap. Visibly Sasuke had given Manda a bath, but a long time ago, since Sasuke was no longer wet.

The remaining sunlight poured on Sasuke, caressing his body and face; the light playing with the shadows to emphasize Sasuke's beauty. But somehow it seemed like it was raining… as if Sasuke was crying under the rain. A feeling of sorrow seeped from the scene. Naruto stood there, frozen.

"Your lover is here."

Sasuke turned, hands still on Manda. Naruto grinned and scratched his head, a little uneasily, especially around the huge Snake. Was he even supposed to interrupt? Awkwardly he sat next to them. Why was the snake looking at him like that?

"Sasuke…"

"Moron," answered the dark man, catching his collar to kiss him. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's nape and deepened the kiss, sliding a hand along his lover's back to rest it on his behind, squeezing.

"Have you no shame?" muttered Sasuke motioning toward Manda.

"He's not a kid," retorted Naruto, grinning. He then licked his lips and Sasuke backed away a little. "By the way, the kids are asleep faaaaar away from us…"

"No," snapped Sasuke, going back to petting Manda. "Thank you for all your work."

Manda raised and glancing at Naruto one last time disappeared. Sasuke, legs still dangling in the lake, let himself drop on the ground, resting his head on his arms.

Naruto scratched is head. How do you ask a proud Uchiha why he looks depressed? Maybe he should wait and see if he would talk. Right, when pigs fly. As if Uchiha Sasuke would bare his heart so easily. Should he distract him then? But was it a good idea? You do need to talk about your problems but sometimes you just need to simply forget.

A soft "It's dangerous, Sakura isn't here" registered in Naruto's mind and he finally noticed that he had been staring at Sasuke without even seeing him. Damn, he just missed an opportunity to drool over him.

"What's dangerous?"

"You starting to think like that. Sakura isn't here to cure the headache you'll get."

Naruto growled. "That's lame Sasuke. I mean, it's so typical and stupid. I'm disappointed."

Sasuke turned on his side, facing Naruto, head resting on his fist. "Stupid? It's scientific. When you overexert a muscle that you don't normally use you get cramps."

"Hn."

"Hey, that's my line," pointed out Sasuke before standing, eyebrows frowned. Such a lack of reaction from Naruto meant trouble.

"Hey dobe, what is it?"

Naruto fidgeted a little then sighed. He was always blunt, why stop now? Sasuke was right; he was going to get a headache.

"You. I don't know how to… to ask what's wrong. It's obvious that you're bothered by something. But I don't know if I can ask you if you want to talk about it and I'm not sure you will talk about it if I don't ask, and if I ask you might tell me off and…"

"Is this a new way to coax me to kiss you?" asked Sasuke, smirking.

"I'm being serious you asshole!" yelled Naruto, throwing a stone in the lake and then starting to sulk.

"Just ask what's wrong. If I tell you off, it means I don't want to talk, that's all. You know me well enough to interpret my reaction, don't you? If I start beating the shit out of you, it's a way to get the stress out by actions, not words."

Naruto blinked. Whoa that was one hell of a confession and a compliment. Purring he gave Sasuke a peck and pushed him on the ground and knelt beside him, hands resting on each side of Sasuke's head.

"And teasing me is a way to change the subject without rebuking me? Does it mean that you want my company Sasuke-bastard?" he asked, lips brushing Sasuke's, sharing his breath.

"No, I just don't want to hear your whining. I've had enough of Ryû's for today."

"Ryû got on your nerves?"

Sasuke growled but didn't move. For a moment he seemed to ponder the question. "Yeah, he's strong. He's trash."

For the briefest moment Sasuke's eyes turned red. Naruto frowned a little but loosened up almost immediately. Of course his team would have an effect on Sasuke. First, they were his team and Sasuke knew he wouldn't stand to see them hurt. Second, Silk had already showed that she could relate to Sasuke (she had understood his respect for the dead) and there was her love for Itachi, which was strange and would undoubtedly make Sasuke react. Third, Ryû had a weak mind but a strong body, which Sasuke would hate since he had always tried to get stronger to protect and avenge his loved ones. Ryû had the physical strength but not the mind. And Ibara, well he was normal and a nice ninja. If the whole team would have been like him, Sasuke wouldn't have gotten sort of attached to them. Yet, Ibara could still conquer Sasuke, because he was a nice ninja and a balance for the others.

"He was the second best of his class at the academy."

"Too much of a wimp to be the best I guess."

"Yeah," grinned Naruto, refraining a chuckle just in time.

"I got a bird," stated Sasuke suddenly.

"What?"

"The Hokage sent me a bird."

Naruto crooked an eyebrow. This conversation was going to be long, he should get a better position, or he would end up crashing on Sasuke, who would not appreciate that. Flashing a fox-grin he settled himself on Sasuke's toned abs.

"Such a good seat," he teased and braced himself, keeping stable even as Sasuke tried to shove him off. "Come on, Sasuke, and can you lift your legs so I can rest my back on them? Please?"

"And why would I do that, dobe?" asked Sasuke, sounding dangerous. Naruto gulped, maybe that hadn't been a very good idea after all.

"Well… because it's a nice thing to do? I'll repay you for it, ok? Please?"

Sasuke lifted his legs, his knees resting against Naruto's back.

"You have information I need. Don't think I'm being nice."

"Er… ok," managed Naruto, smiling like an idiot. "Well, so, your birdie? Since you haven't left, I suppose it's in this country."

"Yes. I can't stay with you for your mission."

"That's ok. I don't mind. We can do it alone. You can't tell me about it since it's an Anbu mission, right?"

"Hn," answered Sasuke, closing his eyes. He couldn't tell him, but it concerned him. Akatsuki.

Naruto leaned a little, hands resting on Sasuke's shoulder as he got nearer. "I love you," he whispered.

"Hn," replied Sasuke, not even opening his eyes.

Well, what had Naruto hoped for? He was dating an ice cube. But that didn't mean he liked the way he acted. Well, since Sasuke had been nice enough to let him seat on him, he wouldn't make a scene but… Naruto poked Sasuke hard between the ribs, making the dark haired man's eyes fly open, flashing red.

"Bastard."

"Dobe."

"Asshole."

"Usuratonkatchi."

"I love you."

"Hn."

"Aw! Come on! A 'me too' wouldn't kill you!" protested Naruto, trying to poke Sasuke once again, but being caught.

"Move," ordered Sasuke, pushing him away. "It's been a tiring day."

"I know a good way to make you relax," purred Naruto before licking Sasuke's lips, brushing their noses. His hands glided under Sasuke's yukata to caress his chest.

"Sure," answered Sasuke, Naruto's eyes widened and as a grin began to form on his lips, he yelped.

Sasuke had just punched him on the shoulder, and had kicked his legs, making him fall on the ground, reversing their positions. Naruto rolled just in time to dodge another punch.

"What the hell!"

"You said you were going to make me relax, training is perfect," taunted Sasuke before adding, "you horny pervert."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara was the first to wake up, shivering. The fire had died a long time ago; the sun was almost set now. They had fallen asleep. Moving a little, he winced. Damn everything hurt. Ryû mumbled next to him and fell on his arm.

"Oy Ryû! Wake up."

"Mmm Silk," whispered Ryû, hugging Ibara who had started to struggle.

"Ryû! I'm not Sil-Don't you dare!" screamed Ibara in a high pitched voice as Ryû tried to kiss him, still asleep.

The yell woke him up and he blinked, noticing he was in Ibara's arms, who was tomato red. Ryû looked at his friend a little puzzled and then clamped his hands on his face looking offended.

"Ibara! You pervert! Trying to take advantage of me while I sleep!"

"I wasn't!" protested Ibara, bolting upright, Ryû falling on his ass.

"You liar," retorted the blond, scowling a little, "not that I can't understand you, no one can resist me."

"Ibara, where are the teachers?" asked Silk, now awake and still ignoring Ryû. He was now fixing his hair, trying to look good to impress Silk.

"Maybe in the forest. The camp seems secured."

"Oh! They must be training! We _have_ to see that!" shouted Ryû, overexcited, already dashing toward the forest. Ibara and Silk in tow, also curious.

When they arrived, Sasuke and Naruto were fighting. Sasuke was taking care of about ten Kage Bunshin at an incredible speed and caught Naruto's kick before it could connect. They seemed to have agreed on not using weapons or special jutsus.

The three genins were completely mesmerized. They could barely see what was happening. It was all happening so fast. Their moves were great and perfectly performed; it was like a perfect ballet.

"Whoa… that's incredible! Who's winning?" asked Ibara.

"I don't know. It's hard to tell," answered Ryû, not missing one bit.

"Sasuke-sama really went easy on us," murmured Silk.

Just then Sasuke slammed Naruto on the floor, straddling him.

"Sasuke-sama's the best!" exclaimed Ryû.

Right then Naruto managed to reverse their position.

"Nope Naruto-sensei is winning," contradicted Ibara.

"Equality," piped in Silk. "Sasuke-sama has his hands on Sensei's throat."

And then they blinked. Naruto had just buried his hand up in Sasuke's legs, stroking his thighs… naked thighs under his yukata. Sasuke let his grip slip, shivered and began to wriggle and struggle, trying to break free. Naruto obviously didn't see it that way since he began to nibble on Sasuke's throat, which seemed to be his weak spot. Team 5 blinked once again.

"What the…?" began Ryû.

"Er… not for children!" yelped Ibara, clapping his hands on Ryû's and Silk's eyes.

"They're making out? Let me see Ibara! I need to know for Silk-chan and I! OUCH!" whined Ryû as he was kicked by both of his team mates. "That was uncalled for!" he protested.

"Don't be rude!" admonished Ibara, without removing his hand and glaring at Ryû, in anger and to avoid seeing other things.

"Pervert!" added Silk, tomato red, eyes tightly shut, hands on her ears (just in case), hitting Ryû once again for good measure.

Coughing made them turn, Ibara, dropped his hands. Oops! Angry teachers at three o'clock, very angry-frustrated-Naruto-sensei and very cold-I-don't-care-Sasuke-sensei. Not good. Mayday?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto successfully took the situation back in hands until Sasuke's fingers closed around his throat. And that's when he noticed something. Sasuke wasn't wearing any pants.

"Don't tell me you're only wearing boxers under that yukata," gulped Naruto.

Sasuke palled a little and Naruto gave him a predatory grin, sliding his hands under the parted yukata and striking the soft thighs, making Sasuke lose his grip and start wriggling to get free. As if. It was too big of an opportunity to miss. Purring he began to lick and nibble on Sasuke's throat, knowing that it would make him turn into a nice puddle of eager hormones.

Indeed Sasuke made a strange noise and tilted his head, hands now pressing Naruto harder against him. After all the kids where back at the camp sleeping and not looking at them from the border of the clearing… _what the hell_?

Sasuke bolted upright, Naruto falling heavily on his back, muttering obscenities about inconsiderate bastards. That was until he saw what Sasuke had seen. He was so going to strangle them. In the blink of an eye he was before them, looking murderous and coughing to catch the fighting kids' attention.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Come on Naruto-sensei. It's not that bad!"

Naruto only turned, sulking even more, angry beyond imagination.

"Please?" begged Ryû, struggling to get free.

"Bear with it, you're only making him angrier," snapped Ibara, holding his beret.

Naruto-sensei had hung them upside down in the tent. What was Naruto-sensei doing in their tent? Well Sasuke-sama had locked himself in with Silk in the other tent, trapping the place to make sure the other three couldn't sneak in.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk looked at Sasuke-sama, blushing crimson as she was settling for the night in his tent.

"Why am I not being punished?" she dared to ask timidly.

"You were closing your eyes and had clamped your hands on your ears. It's those three morons' fault."

Silk buried herself under the covers at Sasuke's cold tone. He didn't look like it, but he sure was unhappy. He hadn't even listened to Naruto-sensei's pitiful begging. Her Sensei had even protested about Silk being allowed to stay in the tent. Sasuke-sama had answered that he wouldn't want Ryû to sneak in the girl's tent and make a fuss, since Ryû seemed to be Naruto's replica, a stupid dead-last horny moron and a pervert.

What Silk didn't know was that Sasuke also saw this as an opportunity to interrogate her about her link with Itachi. Once settled for the night, Sasuke didn't beat around the bush.

"What is your connection with Itachi?" he demanded.

Silence was his only answer. He turned briskly toward the girl, ready to smash her but his anger vanished as fast as it had risen. She had fallen asleep, curled up with her katana. She must have been exhausted after the training and events of the day. The only reason why he let her sleep and kept his question to himself was that she had a mission the next day. Breathing deeply he tried to stop the trembling of his fist; his nails had almost cut into his hand.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Thanks for reviewing, everyone! Please keep doing it! I need the reviews (smile)

I'm surprised people like Manda this much… I mean he's totally OOC lol

Please don't forget to leave a review, even if it's just one word. Comments are really appreciated!

Next chapter: Troubles (the plot is coming, don't worry)


	4. Trouble

**Chapter ****4: Trouble**

I will never say it enough, but thanks to my Beta.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

Thanks for all your nice comments! They are so heart warming! Thank you very much.

A special thanks to: **Siriusfasha** for having put an advertisement for my story on Aarin Fantasy, I'm deeply moved.

Dear **Hink**, I will answer to your remark at the end of this chapter. (I couldn't e-mail you, since you're an anonymous reviewer, sorry)

By the way, I'm not answering to comments (well excepted if there is a question because you don't understand something), but if some of you really wants me to answer, just ask and I will. I'm not answering because I believe you prefer me writing the next chapter lol

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû let the guards pass before he dropped from his hiding spot on the ceiling. After making sure that the place was safe, he placed a few traps to warn him if the guards came back. Using a complex glass system he made a sign to Silk. She entered through the window and pressed herself flat against the wall of the politician's room, closing her eyes and concentrating.

_Their escort mission ended once t__hey entered the village. They could start their real mission now: to steal a scroll from a politician. Naruto-sensei had made a map of the town and the politician's building the previous day. Taking into consideration each team member's abilities, Ryû had devised a plan to retrieve the scroll. Naruto was only there in case of trouble. _

_The__ team had rented two rooms and had kept training until sunset. Silk was now able to use her ability at will, even if she needed a lot of concentration beforehand. She was able to cross walls but couldn't maintain the jutsu for more than 30 seconds. She could materialize before the 30 seconds were up and become intangible once more without concentration… yet after the 30 seconds, she had to gather up her chakra again. Furthermore it only worked on her and what she wore; it couldn't be extended to another person. Ryû had happily tried to nuzzle against her to see if more contact would help. Ibara hit him hard enough to leave a nice bump on his head. _

"Ok, Silk. This wall should lead you straight to the safe. While crossing it, you must find the scroll. Once you're out of it, drop some of Ibara's blood on the lock. It should melt it and…"

"And then I open the safe, take the scroll and cross back here. I know," pointed out Silk, trying to concentrate despite of Ryû's unceasing babbling.

"Don't forget you have only…"

"30 seconds, I _know_. Could you _please_ keep quiet? I'm trying to _concentrate,_" sighed Silk, rolling her eyes, trying to concentrate. They only had ten minutes before the patrol's next round .

"Hey! You're talking to me again!" shrilled Ryû, almost glowing with happiness.

"SHUT THE HELL UP," was his answer and he nearly jumped out of his skin, snatching his earpiece out. Ibara had been the one to yell at the top of his lungs.

"Thanks, Ibara," muttered Silk. And then she became intangible and simply passed through the wall.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Red sharingan eyes kept watching the two men. He should have made sure he was dead. It had been a really stupid move not to check. Damn. He had trusted Konoha on this one, he should have known better. You can only trust yourself. Did he ever learn?

His mission was to gather as much information as he could. He already had an idea of why they were here. Kyuubi. For the moment though, they didn't seem to pose any sort of danger… maybe they where only recruiting members? Or keeping a close eye on the Kyuubi's vessel.

As they began to move he closed his eyes, clutching his sword as he went totally lax to blend into his surroundings. Only instinct would tell him if they attacked. He felt them pass him, not seeming to notice his presence, but you could never be sure. As they disappeared into another street Sasuke went back in motion, following them.

He cringed inwardly as he saw them go toward a particular building, the tallest one, the most important one… the one where Naruto and his team's mission was taking place.

One word ringed loudly in Sasuke's head: fuck.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû felt a tug on his wrist and his eyes grew wide with fear. They were coming back! Silk had just entered the room! Trembling he knocked once sharply on the wall, to warn Silk.

"Ibara, they are coming back!" he whispered hurriedly, Silk's earpiece didn't work while she was immaterial.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Hide on the ceiling. If Silk comes out, hold them up," ordered Naruto, already making his way toward them. He had a bad feeling. Could he count on Ryû? "Ibara go help him."

"I'm already on my way, Sensei," replied Ibara, rushing as fast as he could. Damn, he was far! He had been posted at the gate to keep watch in case the politician came back. So far he had only seen two weird guys wearing some sort of coats that looked more like sleeping gowns than anything, but still… he shouldn't have to leave his post. It could make the whole 'keep the mission a secret' part hard if the politician came back and caught them red-handed.

Naruto swore under his breath, they weren't supposed to be seen! Well they could be seen, but not recognized as Leaf's Shinobi. What had happened to make the patrol come back this early?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû clamped a hand to his mouth, he was breathing too loudly and was sweating too much… the guards were going to catch him.

"We're on red alert, very powerful ninjas have been spotted in the town!" yelped a guard to his friend.

"Damn, being famous can be such a pain," thought Ryû, shaking his head.

As if Ryû's worst nightmare was taking shape right in front of him, he saw the two guards settle against the wall, right next to where Silk was supposed to appear… They weren't going to stay there? Right?

And then, the worst happened.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As he saw them pass by the main entry and the oblivious Ibara, Sasuke decided that he had to do something. Dropping his tailing mission he dashed toward Naruto's location. He had to warn him.

Naruto was running full speed; he had to make it in time. Thank God he had improved his hiding skills, because he had to duck an impressive number of people on his way. Running, crashing into a corridor to dodge a person, back to running, flattening himself on the ceiling, running, blending with a wall praying that his orange jumpsuit wouldn't show despite his jutsu, back to running... at last a completely empty corridor! He was getting closer.

He spun sharply on his heels as he noticed a dark figure swooping down on him. Kunai in hand he slashed at the man, who dodged it. Already he was on him; a kick aimed at his stomach, but once again his adversary parried. Damn, the man was good. But he hadn't finished yet! Catching him by the arm he used it as a support, giving a little push with his feet, and ending up behind him, only to be unceremoniously smashed against the wall.

"Dobe, it's me," whispered an all too familiar voice.

"Sasuke?"

The form nodded once and released him, pushing down his anbu mask. Naruto frowned. What was going on? Sasuke wasn't here to play a joke.

"They're after you. You have to leave now with your team."

"Can't, they are in trouble. Who's after me?" retorted Naruto, already running, followed closely by Sasuke.

Sasuke seemed to hesitate but surrendered, "Akatsuki."

That almost made Naruto fall head over heels. "Oh shit! That was your secret mission. That would explain why the guards are in alert… Ibara did tell me he saw two guys wearing a dressing gown coat shit shit shit."

"Don't freak out. They might not really be after you," snapped Sasuke.

"No, you don't understand. Silk's in the politician's office and the guards are coming back," explained Naruto, running faster.

"Can't she take care of herself? Plus Ibara's with her," snorted Sasuke, not understanding Naruto's motherly instinct.

"Wrong. Ryû's with her."

"Oh. She's dead," assumed Sasuke.

"Thanks for the reassurance, bastard," growled Naruto.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk had just appeared right next to the guards, making them jump. Ryû tensed on the ceiling. '_You're worth nothing, too nice,_ _every man for himself and God for us al,l_' rang in his head, closely followed by a deepest voice, hard and cold '_Trash. You're able to help your team but you don't._' He breathed in deeply. He had to act now. He took a kunai and prepared to let go and attack the men. First he would distract them with a shuriken then… '_Ryû, promise me, you will never die or get hurt right, dear? You can't leave me, promise me. This life isn't yours after all, promise me,_' whispered a female voice in his head. Ryû froze, he couldn't do it.

Silk yelped has she found herself face to face with two guards. Oops. Fortunately she had kept her jutsu up, saving her life as two swords had neatly passed through her. But now she couldn't use it anymore! Rolling she placed as much distance as she could between the men, sending kunai in their direction while she was at it. Already on her feet, she waited, ready with shuriken and kunai.

"Ryû!" she pleaded, as the two men lunged at her.

No response. Wimp. Fine. Trembling, she drew her katana and dived at the men, Sasuke had showed her an attack that could be a good defence. With two against one it was the only way out she could phantom. She dodged the first sword and felt the other one bite her shoulder but not too deep, she had had time to slash the man's arm open with her katana.

Sweating and bloody she turned to face her other opponent before the second one could recover. She wasn't fast enough! She pumped some chakra into her feet. She jumped and fell, not able to catch herself as she landed. And already the swords were coming her way.

"Got you!" screamed Ibara entering the corridor, blood raining on the swords, shielding Silk.

This was the moment Ryû chose to act, dropping next to the men. Unfortunately they had seen him come; a sword was waiting for him, ready to cut him in half.

"Ryû!" screamed Silk, grabbing him by the hair to yank him out of the sword's way.

"Ow!" yelped Ryû, falling on his ass, clutching his precious hair (Silk had uprooted some locks in the process).

Bloody cursed rain closed around one man, trapping him and Ibara used this opportunity to hit him hard on the head, making him faint. At the same time, Silk kicked her adversary in the crotch, making him bend toward her, just at the perfect height for her to hit his nape with the handle of her katana.

They blinked. Whoa. Both adversaries were out cold. They had done it!

"Silk, your shoulder!" worried Ibara.

"It's nothing," tried to reassure Silk but her eyes began to cross. Ryû caught her and ripping one of his sleeves made a tourniquet to stop the blood.

"Silk," whined Ibara, anxious.

"Don't panic, she just lost too much blood," reassured a breathless Naruto making his entry with Sasuke.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This way," pointed Naruto. At last they were in the corridor where his team was fighting. They could already see them but couldn't act and risk hurting them. When they finally reached them, the fight was over. Naruto quickly checked up on the weakening but still conscious Silk.

"You did great," praised Naruto, sweeping her in his arms. Silk caught Sasuke's eyes, unconsciously searching for his acknowledgment. He gave her a curt nod and she blushed from happiness.

"You too Ibara," continued Naruto. Sasuke had lowered next to the men and was erasing their memory so nobody would know they had been Leaf Shinobi. The Sharingan was such a useful limit-bloodline. Then both men's eyes rested on Ryû, he had his head bowed.

"Nice bandage Ryû," remarked Naruto. Ryû flashed him a small smile but avoided Sasuke's gaze, feeling his coldness already… and a touch of anger.

"Naruto…" began Sasuke reproachfully but both he and Naruto caught a red and black coat out of the corner of their eyes.

"Fuck," muttered Naruto, dropping Silk in Ibara's arms and throwing both boys out the window without warning. Sasuke had already made the seal and was breathing fire at the two Akatsuki members to slow them down, covering their retreat.

As a kunai shot through the fire directly at Sasuke, Naruto slid an arm around his waist and yanked them both out. Holding his precious dark lover against him, a wide grin plastered on his lips as the two Akatsuki members could only watch them escape; he had made the wall crumble after them.

"Mmm nice having you there you know, Sasuke," whispered Naruto taking this opportunity to nibble at his ear and molest him a little.

"May I point out that we are falling from the seventh floor?"

"Shit I forgot!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They were running as fast as they could. Naruto leading the way, Ibara and Silk just behind them (Ibara wanted to be there in case Silk gave out). Ryû followed watching Silk's steps closely. Sasuke brought up the rear, making sure no one was following them, covering their tracks and setting small traps.

They had taken almost a week to arrive in town, but they were leading the caravan and had had to make lots of stops to sell products. They would only need a night and a day to reach Konoha… but that was without taking the kids into account. They weren't fast enough. They would slow them down and they couldn't afford that.

"Naruto, do a Bushin."

Naruto opened his mouth to ask why but Silk yelped, being swept in Sasuke's arms and put on his back. He unrolled some steal thread and made her a sort of seat, tying it to his waist to free his movements; he couldn't use his hands to hold her in place. She fastened one of her arms around his neck, the injured one resting against her and let her head rest against his broad shoulders, feet dangling on each side of him to let him move at ease, the 'seat' kept her perfectly stable.

Naruto immediately made a bushin and put Ryû on his back, letting the clone take care of Ibara. He was frowning a little.

"Ryû, keep quiet ok? Sasuke will strangle you otherwise," he whispered and felt Ryû nod.

"I wasn't going to complain about not being the one given a piggyback ride by Sasuke-sama anyway… I don't deserve it," mumbled Ryû, burying his face in Naruto's clothes. Naruto gently patted his leg. Everything was just a façade; in reality the child really hated himself… but what made him act like this? At least a rift was beginning to show, and not just to Ibara anymore.

"You know? You're making him react, it's more than many can say," Ryû didn't answer and Naruto didn't comment on the wet feeling on his shoulder.

Now he had another concern. Keeping a close eye on Sasuke, he was starting to worry a little. It seemed his dark lover had tried to warn him…

_Naruto cursed as the traps set on motion__. Damn that Sasuke for being such a prick! As he was dodging the kunais and other little surprises, he saw Sasuke leave the tent, looking gloomy. Oh come on! Was he still angry about being surprised by the kid? _

"_Hey, don't be mad," started Naruto, a sheepish grin on his face. _

"_Keep those children out of my way if you don't want them hurt," dropped Sasuke before leaving to wash in the river. He was looking so sour Naruto didn't even try to follow him. _

And that was worrying Naruto, a lot. What had happened in the tent? He knew this had nothing to do with the clearing incident. Was it about Itachi, once again? Had Sasuke lost his nerve? Silk didn't look hurt, he had checked. When he asked if something weird had happened in the tent she looked at him with big startled eyes. She also said Sasuke hadn't mentioned Itachi at all. But something had happened… he could feel it… or better said something had almost happened. Sasuke wouldn't erase Silk's memory… so he had 'warned' him about something he had almost done. So he wasn't too thrilled with Sasuke being the one carrying Silk right now.

Silk closed her eyes, leaning even more on Sasuke, breathing his scent. It was very similar to one of her memory. This was a sort of reminiscence, not exactly the same, not the same context but still. She knew this scent and it wasn't exactly the same but close enough, she knew this feeling of danger intimately mixed with a feeling of safety that came from Sasuke, still not exactly the same. It reminded her of that night when she was three. It was funny how she could recall it so precisely, even if other memories were just a blur.

As if on cue with her recollection, a deep and low voice spoke. It was similar once again but different, so close and yet so far. Two different people but with the same blood running through their veins.

"What is your connection with Itachi?" asked the voice, echoing in her chest as if forcing her to reveal her secrets. Her eyes where heavy, she wanted to sleep, she needed to… but this was important, she had to answer.

"Itachi-sama and Kakashi-sensei saved my life," she whispered before letting sleep claim her.

Only intense, strict, and painful training made it possible for Sasuke not to waver. His pace didn't falter either but a blond-haired ninja caught the slight tremor of his body. Already the unpredictable wanna-be-Hokage was next to him, a hand brushing against his.

"Don't worry Naruto. Nobody will ever take better care of her than me," asserted Sasuke.

Naruto lifted an eyebrow, catching Sasuke's gaze and shivering under its intensity.

"Itachi saved her life," he simply stated.

Only the fact that he was holding a sleeping Ryû stopped Naruto from falling. And only Sasuke's almost imperceptible instability prevented him from yelling, "what?" at the top of his lungs. He would have to interrogate Sasuke about it later. At least now it seemed he didn't have to worry about Silk.

Sasuke said he would protect her. Naruto would bet the Uchiha didn't even see how true that was. But Naruto knew. He knew what his statement really meant. He knew what was going on in his lover's head. Sasuke would protect her, because she was the proof that Itachi hadn't always been evil. She was the living 'good deed' he had made, maybe the last one, before that fateful day. She was a link with Itachi, with the old Itachi. A proof that the Itachi he used to know did exist… that his older brother wasn't something he had made up. And Sasuke would train her until nothing could hurt her, because he couldn't let her die and she was to show the world Itachi had done something good, she was a testimony.

Sasuke's mind was restless. He wanted to know what had happened. Why Itachi had saved her? When? He needed to know the whole story. She said Kakashi-sensei had been there, so it was before the slaughtering of his clan… maybe an Anbu mission? He would know soon enough. For the moment they had to reach Konoha as soon as possible.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was late evening when they finally reached Konoha. Team 5 was dead tired, as soon as the Senseis decided the Akatsuki wasn't a real threat anymore, they had been allowed to travel on their own… but they had traveled non-stop and very, very fast! They could barely stand on their feet when they arrived. They flopped down on the floor once they were safely inside the village. When they thought their senseis had traveled all night and day non-stop and with them on their shoulder for part of the journey… they still had to train hard. Very hard.

"You have to go see the Hokage as soon as possible," ordered a guard.

"Hai," answered Naruto, dismissing his team. He had to hand over the scroll and Sasuke had to report about his mission, no doubt the Akatsuki's intervention had already reached Tsunade-baachan.

As they reached the Hokage tower, followed by Team 5, who wanted to have ramen at Ibara's place which was nearby, someone caught up with them.

"Sasuke! Naruto!"

Both men turned toward the voice to see Sakura running toward them. Naruto grinning broadly and opening his arms, "come here sweet heart," he sing-sang to Sakura while Sasuke cringed inwardly. He didn't want to deal with her right now.

Both men gaped openly as Sakura threw herself at Naruto… but not to hug him. With all her non-ninja strength she punched him, sending Naruto to the ground, blood dripping from his open lips. He blinked stupidly, a hand against his already swollen cheek.

"Sakura-chan?" he asked. But she had turned toward Sasuke and was hitting his chest with her fist, crying hysterically, but not really hurting him.

"I hate you! I hate you!"

Team 5 froze on the spot. Ryû and Silk both looking at Ibara for an explanation, he was always the most up to date person. Who would have guessed that he loved gossip? Or like he'd rather say, "gossip loved him".

"Er… I suppose she found out about Naruto-sensei and Sasuke-sama's relationship… It's said she's madly in love with Sasuke-sama."

"Oh," said Ryû and Silk, nodding.

Naruto rose. "Sakura-chan..." he said softly trying to coax her to calm down. That mostly did it, she stopped hitting the unblinking Sasuke and tried to hit Naruto once again, but he caught her wrist before she could.

"Calm down… what's going on, Sakura-chan?"

"You asshole! You stole him from me! You knew I loved him! You _stole_ him!" shrieked Sakura fighting against Naruto's hold, but not yet trying to kick him; which was a blessing since Naruto cared about his family jewels after all. Sasuke, on the other hand, was looking at his team-mate as if cabbages had just sprouted from her ears.

"How… how did you find out?" stammered Naruto. He wanted to tell her personally, to keep it slow and be ready for her outburst. He didn't want team 7 to break apart. They had almost lost each other already. How had she found out? Only his team had seen him kiss Sasuke, nobody else knew! Not even Iruka or Tsunade.

"I saw you," replied Sakura breaking free, Naruto dodged her fist and as she concentrated chakra Sasuke finally stepped in, trapping her in his arms. She kept screaming obscenities at Naruto. Thrashing against her loved one's embrace, her face red by anger and tears, her hair disheveled and spit coming out of her mouth.

"Popcorn anyone?" asked Ryû before being hit by Ibara. Silk had started to fidget; they weren't supposed to see that. But how were they supposed to just leave? Thank God not many people were out at this hour on this street, the ones who were muttered, "that Naruto again, always making trouble for decent people," before shutting themselves in their house.

Naruto stared at Sasuke, she saw them? When? And then it registered in both their minds. When they had been so engrossed with each other… _A sudden noise shattered the silence around them. Both men froze on the spot, Sasuke dropping his head on the armrest in despair. What was it this time? Holding their breath they waited, tense. Nothing seemed to disturb the peaceful house (see Sound and Leaf chap 12)._ It had happened just before they left to the bedroom. So they hadn't dreamed it… Sakura had been the one who made the noise.

"Sakura shhh, calm down… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry," begged Naruto, reaching for her but never daring touch her, not knowing what to do as she kept fighting Sasuke's restrain. The latter didn't utter a word, browns furrowed.

"Liar! You brought him back only to steal him from me! You… you traitor!"

That felt like a slap to Naruto who lowered his head, biting his lips, unable to come up with something to appease her. How could he? He had taken Sasuke, knowing perfectly well she had been after him since her childhood.

"He was to be mine! You traitor! You thief!"

"I'm no one's possession," finally snapped Sasuke, hardening his hold, making Sakura wince. She raised her teary eyes toward him, hiccupping.

"Sakura, I was never yours to begin with. I've never given you any indication that I felt the same as you. Damn, I've never even _looked_ at you."

This made Sakura cry even more. Naruto hit his head with his palm at Sasuke's lack of tact.

"Sasuke…" he groaned.

"Whoa… and I thought he was only harsh with me," murmured Ryû.

"Ryû! She's suffering! That must have hurt… Sasuke-sama doesn't mince his words," sympathised Ibara.

"At least he's saying what he truly thinks," mentioned Silk, trying to shush out the people who seemed to be eavesdropping. It was the least she could do.

Sakura glared at Sasuke, even if she knew he was right. He rolled his eyes and let her go. "Sakura, I've never planned to return your feelings. You're a precious friend but no more than that."

Naruto blinked at Sasuke, that was a nice comment. But it didn't soothe Sakura. On the contrary, it seemed to anger her even more. How could she react well to being called friend? Didn't he know it was the most horrible thing? That it hurt even more? She didn't want to be his friend! She wanted to be his love! Hearing him call her like that hurt too much… she wanted to hurt him in return.

"You're killing your clan!" she yelled satisfied to see Sasuke's coolness break as anger flared in his stony features.

"Sakura!" gasped Naruto, shocked.

"How are you planning to revive your clan, Sasuke? By jumping him you won't have children!" she continued. "You're betraying your clan!"

Naruto felt his heart shatter. He couldn't make Sasuke's wish true… Sakura was right. Yet for the moment he had something else to worry about, Sasuke's eyes had turned Sharingan.

"Ouch. One point each. She's not bad either," piped Ryû, as if watching a match on TV sprawled in an armchair.

"They're going to kill each other," fretted Ibara "anyone has an idea on how to stop very strong ninja from killing each other?"

"Yes those pretty eyes are the last! You sinner!" Sakura went on, gathering chakra, ready to fight Sasuke if needed.

"Sakura! You're going too far!" snapped Naruto getting angry at his friend's behavior.

"The Hokage?" suggested Silk, looking around to see if someone could help.

"Yeah sure. 'Sorry, three of your strongest ninja are having a cat fight over a love affair, care to help?'" snickered Ryû.

"Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed Silk, he would be gladly welcome. Ibara shook his head. They didn't know where to look for him and by the time they found him it would surely be too late.

Faster than she could have guessed, Sasuke grabbed Sakura's wrist in one hand, snatching her chin with the other, making their eyes meet and immobilizing her with the sheer intensity of his glare. He was radiating cold anger and she started shivering as if he could freeze her right there. He then lowered his head toward her, brushing her lips.

"You want me this much Sakura?" he asked in a cold and merciless voice. She blinked, tears running down her cheek. "You want me to jump you, as you say so well, without feeling anything for you? Yes? You want me to get you pregnant only to rebuild my clan? You want to be my whore Sakura?"

Sakura began hiccupping once again, the word stabbing her with the truth. Naruto closed his eyes. This wasn't happening. It was so stupid, useless. Sakura shouldn't have pushed Sasuke like that, she should know by now that he pushed back twice as hard.

"Two to one," stated Ryû, dodging Ibara's fist but missing Silk's kick. "Ow!"

"Half the girls in Konoha would kill to bear my children. Half the clans would give me their daughters only to share my blood. None would care about feelings." Sasuke gave a soulless laugh, "is that what you want? To be a nice doll I can use to make children? You think you're the only one? What makes you think you're special?"

Sakura shook her head. No, that wasn't what she wanted. Of course not! She wanted him! To be loved by him! To have what he had given to Naruto. And she was special!

"I'm your team mate," she yelped.

"Ibara, can't you try telling her something? You've always been good at soothing disturbed people," pleaded Silk, giving a fast and meaningful glance toward Ryû.

Ibara stared at her, shaking his head fervently, "you're kidding. I don't stand a chance, just look at her! She's gone mental!"

"Yeah and even if he cuts himself, Ibara's never been suicidal, Silk. Ow! Stop hitting me!" complained Ryû.

Sasuke snorted, "my team mate? I'm not speaking to her right now. I'm speaking with a rabid and stupid fan girl."

"If you say three to one, Ryû I'm hitting you," warned Ibara, fisting his hand.

"No need, you just did it for me. Ow! Not fair!"

"He's right, Sakura. You're not acting like yourself," stated Naruto.

Sakura grew calm and Sasuke released her. She had acted stupidly… but all this pent up emotions since she had fled from Sasuke's house after seeing them… She was jealous, so angry, so sad…

"I'm sorry… I went too far… I"

"It's ok, Sakura-chan. I understand," grinned Naruto, trying to act like his usual self. "Right, Sasuke?"

"Hn."

Sakura lowered her head. Naruto patted her awkwardly on the back and then she remembered. "Let me cure this Naruto," she asked, caressing Naruto's broken lips and already blue cheek.

"I'm off to the Hokage. Meet me there, dobe," stated Sasuke leaving them.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry… really," apologized Sakura, he waved her off.

"He's not mad, don't worry," soothed Naruto. She gave him a small smile. She should feel lucky to have such team mates. Yet, it still hurt. She would need time.

"I'm sorry for hitting you."

"Me too, for taking him," their gaze met and they smiled to each other. Yet what Sakura had said still ringed in his head, and surely in Sasuke's too. He gave her a last grin as she left to go back home to rest and lick her wounds.

Naruto only seemed to notice just now that his team had been there the whole time. He scratched his head uneasily. "Hey, sorry about the scene guys."

"Silk's a girl, Sensei," retorted Ibara, earning a playful tug on his beret. Well, had he had hair he would have torn his hair out, fortunately he had none.

"Sasuke's the best! He calmed her down and won the fight," beamed Ryû.

"No one's dead, it's a miracle with such a mental girl," mumbled Silk.

Naruto laughed and bid them good night, running to catch up with Sasuke. The old hag was going to go mental on him if he was too late. Dealing with Sakura had been enough for tonight!

"I hope we don't end up like that..." whispered Silk.

"No way, I'm not going to be paired up with Ibara!" shrieked Ryû, stepping away from said team mate.

"You idiot! I'm talking about ... ahem, nothing," Silk blushed. She hoped they wouldn't end up like that, fighting like team 7 for real and breaking up. This bond was precious to her. What had happened so far between them, her fight with Ryû, was nothing compared to this. Maybe she should bury the hatchet with Ryû.

Team 5 wasn't up for ramen anymore so they just parted there, each going back to their own home. Silk wished Ibara goodnight and then glanced at Ryû and wished him a goodnight too.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Congratulation to **MeEksiNs** for catching the clue in chapter 12, now you know, it was Sakura who was "spying" on them. I love using 'small details' and clues for later in the story. For example you could have guessed Ibara was bald, Ryû almost told it during the presentation.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review! Feed the author lol

Next chapter: Life Glimpses

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dear Hink,

First, thanks for taking the time to review. I'm quoting your review so that you won't have to go look for it "hn, of course the past is an excuse. being a rapist adn being kinda annoying or a prat are two very different things...you can't compare like that."

I'm really sorry if Silk's comment shocked you. Keep in mind that what the character thinks isn't necessarily what the author thinks But in this case I'm siding with Silk.  
I know I used a strong comparison but it was only as a way to make the point clearer. Of course being a rapist and behaving like Ryû aren't at all on the same level (fortunately!).  
But I do believe that the past isn't an excuse, I mean, it can explain personality traits and behaviours, but you still have a choice. Going back to the rape example (sorry, it's such a touchy subject for me too), even if you were raped you can choose to turn into a rapist or not. So I won't forgive a rapist for being one, even if he was raped.

If you'd like to continue this discussion with me, don't hesitate to e-mail me. (Of course on the condition taht we keep this discussion cordial )

Yours sincerely,

Lisea

PS: I don't want to discuss this issue with anyone other than Hink so please don't contact/email me about it. I am putting up the reply to the review here because the reviewer didn't leave an email address. I appreciate your understanding.


	5. Life Glimpses

**Chapter ****5: Life Glimpses**

I will never say it enough, but thanks to my Beta. Especially for this chapter, she really hurried to check it!  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

Thanks too to everyone who reviewed! Please keep doing it!

Vocabulary: Yamete stop; Okaa-san mother

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After one long and boring meeting with the Hokage in which they hadn't learn anything, excepted that Sasuke had seen Kabuto with two Akatsuki members, they had been told to mind their own business regarding the Akatsuki (Naruto had huffed at this, as if the Akatsuki wasn't _his_ business) Naruto found himself in Sasuke's ghost ridden house.

"You definitely need a pet, Sasuke and you should think about… er… tidying the house if you see what I mean." Like putting his mother's scarf and his father's Jounin vest that still stood proudly at the entrance somewhere else.

"Hn," replied Sasuke, opening a cupboard and taking out two instant ramen.

"Whoa! Ramen! To what do I owe the honor? Too tired to cook tonight?"

"Hn."

"Too lazy to talk too I see," taunted Naruto, catching just in time the bowl and chopsticks that Sasuke threw at him. Leaving his mission bag on the floor he sat at the table and watched Sasuke, or rather stared at his ass. Sakura's words had slapped him on the face. He wanted to talk about it with Sasuke but… how to tackle the problem?

"Hey, Sakura was wrong. You're the one being jumped not the other way around!" Ok that was a lame way.

"That doesn't change the fact I can't have children," answered Sasuke plainly.

Naruto lowered his head. He couldn't suggest adoption since the child wouldn't have the blood-line ability. And he… wasn't for sharing Sasuke with a pack of women.

"I'm not going to let you go, Sasuke, even if it's selfish." Even if the village hated him even more for it. He wouldn't leave Sasuke if the latter didn't want him to. The village didn't own their lives.

"I'm not planning to leave."

That lifted Naruto's spirit a little and he began to eat his now hot ramen.

"I'm not sharing you either, just so you know," added Naruto, his head buried in his bowl but still eyeing Sasuke.

"After Sakura's nice demonstration of how women in love are I think you don't have to worry about that," grunted Sasuke.

Naruto chuckled, "You're being unfair. I'm sure you were flattered!"

"I was consternated," smirked Sasuke.

"Don't smirk like that or I'm shoving you on the table to ravish you," purred Naruto, having already gulped down his ramen. He would like some dessert now and a dark haired proud man sounded good.

"Not now, dobe. I need to eat," retorted Sasuke, making Naruto sulk.

"Not when kids are near, not when you eat…" grumbled Naruto, pouting.

"Speaking of children, I've thought about artificial insemination."

The blond snapped his head up, dumbfounded. Sasuke had already thought about that? He felt a pang of guilt but quickly smashed it. Sasuke had made his choice and had obviously given the issue quite some thought. This was a serious matter and if Sasuke had sorted it out it meant his decision hadn't been made on an impulse. Naruto felt warm… he had been chosen above all the rest and this was proof of how real Sasuke's love was.

"I know lots of women who would agree to bear a child for me while not being romantically involved. Actually, Neji… took some of my brother's sperm while disposing of his corpse. I can revive my clan with his and mine if I wish to. For the moment it can wait." (1)

"Neji _what_?" yelped Naruto "Oh don't tell me it's in your fridge!"

Sasuke stared at him and laughed silently, "of course not. It's in the hands of a trusted medic-nin. Only I can have access to it. I put a special family jutsu on it."

"You owe Neji," mentioned Naruto.

"I think he gave it to me to make sure Hiashi-sama wouldn't use it to inseminate Hinata, just in case," said Sasuke giving him a plate with some dessert on it.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara took off his shoes sighing. Home sweet home. He was so tired he would eat something and go straight to bed. He couldn't help at the restaurant today. Silk had also gone directly home today. His parents, the owners of the Ramen restaurant where Silk and he worked at, would have to do everything on their own today.

"I'm back," he announced, dragging himself toward the kitchen.

"Welcome home, my egg," answered his mother squeezing him against her.

"Don't call me that!" protested Ibara, trying to breathe and protect his ribs at the same time.

His mother was a tall and thin woman with a nice mane of brown hair. Frustrated at being so thin, she had taken the habit of wearing at least five layers of overly large clothes to give the impression that she was one of those plump mothers.

His mother grabbed his beret and smiled, "but you're still as smooth as an egg, my egg," she teased kissing his head playfully. And Ryû still wondered why he had a complex?

Pushing his mother away and pulling his beret back in place, Ibara went to get some ramen out of the fridge.

"Oh, ramen again? It's not healthy!"

"May I remind you that's what we sell, honey?" screamed his father form the counter.

"For now, I'm still trying to make pizza!" answered his mother, little stars in her eyes.

Oh Ibara still remembered his mother's last attempt to make pizza! She had been playing with the dough, making it turn above her head when said dough landed right on poor unsuspecting Ibara. Another time she had added baking powder to the dough, way too much baking powder and it had leaked out of the oven. His mother was a living disaster when she tried her hand at making pizza.

"I'm going to my room, mum."

"Are you going to play with those sharp little things of yours?" asked his mother, motioning him to come so she could check the cuts on his arm.

"They're called Kunai and Shuriken, mum," corrected Ibara.

"Really, do you have to cut yourself like that? You're really using it as a last resort, right egg?"

"Yes yes, and don't call me that!" lied Ibara. He wondered what it would be like to have Shinobis as parents. Neither his mother nor father were Shinobi. They didn't even know how to hold a kunai properly. He had inherited his blood-line ability from his grandfather. It was said that all the family members who had that power were bald, because of the poison in their blood. Ibara was glad he wasn't a woman; it was hard enough to deal with it while being a man.

"How's dear Ryû?"

"Fine," answered Ibara climbing the stairs to his room.

"And sweet little Silk?"

"Fine too."

"And your teacher?" asked his mother following him into his room.

"… fine."

"Aha! You hesitated! Tell mother all about it! By the way, our neighbour, you know the one who just became Jounin he…" and his team wondered why he was always up to date on all of the village's happenings.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto watched Sasuke attend to his business, unpacking his bag, checking his house traps. He totally ignored him. Now Naruto was worried. Was that a way to tell him to leave? That he wasn't up to… certain activities? During the mission he could understand but now… it had been a week since their first time. That was a long time. He was aching. Wasn't Sasuke? Maybe he didn't want to anymore.

"Dobe, I'm taking a shower," informed Sasuke, already beginning to undress.

Oh. Was that an invitation? He should stop worrying. Dessert tiiiime!

Naruto, licking his lips, followed Sasuke unzipping his jacket. Sasuke didn't turn once. The cool bastard, but Naruto would soon have him writhing under him. Sasuke entered the bathroom, dropping his yukata on the floor. Naruto was about to follow him when the door shut right in his face with a loud click. He blinked. What the hell? He heard the spray of water being turn on. He tried to open the door but it was locked.

Ok. That had not been an invitation. Maybe he should begin to seriously worry. Depression time.

Naruto didn't even have the courage to yell at the bastard or kick the door. He just let his head drop on it. What was wrong with Sasuke? He was all friendly; he would even kiss him but… was that it? Why? Had the "kids are with us" been only an excuse? Was it because of Sakura? Was it something else? Could someone explain to him why, _why_ he had chosen such a bloody complicated boyfriend? And they said _girls_ where complicated? Bah, make him laugh!

Grumpy and sad Naruto went back to the kitchen and began to clean up. Maybe he should have thrown him on the table instead of waiting like a dummy. Washing the dishes he imagined the sponge was a loofah and the plate Sasuke's back or chest… and he would make the same little movements on his pale and soft skin, and then he would go south and… ok maybe he was the one who had a problem? Wait. No. They were young and they -well _he_- had hormones… and it was perfectly normal to want to make love to his loved one. _He_ wasn't an ice-prince who had changed his mind!

Naruto smashed the plate in the sink. Damn. What was he still doing here? Sasuke obviously didn't want him here! Fine, he would leave. The bastard could go to hell! Yanking off the apron he had put on to wash the dishes (dark, with of course the Uchiha emblem on it), he threw it on a chair and took his bag. He walked toward the door at an angry pace. He opened it but it clicked shut right back. A damp hand had slammed it.

"Where do you think you're going with your bag?" asked a cool voice.

"Home."

"You're going nowhere before having thoroughly shagged me."

Naruto turned and caught his breath. This was bad for his heart. Sasuke was standing there, dripping wet, bangs sticking to his face, with only a towel wrapped dangerously low around his hips. And his eyes… his fathomless black eyes where full of lust. Breathe. Don't jump on him before having settled the problem, don't… oh God!

Sasuke had leaned toward him, the towel becoming looser by his movements. He could see the beginning of a dark mane. He gulped. Sasuke's lips where on his ear. It was the only part of his body that was touching him, but he could feel the heat radiating from the man, from his arm still on the door and so near to his face, from his whole body.

"I thought that's what you wanted, _Naruto_," he purred.

That was it. Naruto caught Sasuke's wrist and slammed him on the door, flushing his body against his, one leg having spread his dark friend's. He was kissing him or more likely devouring him, Sasuke wrapped one leg around his, pressing him harder against him. As they stopped to breathe, Sasuke turned his head slightly, bangs falling before his eyes, making him look so gorgeous, his swollen lips and half lidded eyes only adding to it. Naruto felt himself harden even more. The small smirk on Sasuke's lips was the only indication that he was a bloody manipulator.

"Thought so," he said in a low chuckle that sent shivers down Naruto's spine.

With a growl Naruto lifted even more the held-by-magic-towel and rubbed a little making Sasuke bit his lips and let out a strangled a moan. That was better. He nudged a little and Sasuke bared his throat. Naruto couldn't say no to such an offering and licked it, feeling Sasuke shudder. Much better. He finally let go of his hold on the man's wrists to slide one arm around the fine waist and a hand under the perfect ass, lifting him on his legs even more.

"_Naruto…_"

Umm he loved this breathless quality in Sasuke's voice. And damn his way of sliding his arms under his shirt to cling to him, hands clenched on his shoulders, nails scratching lightly.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

A death glare and sharp teeth biting him were his "reward." Sasuke had even backed away.

"Bastard," growled Naruto, his eyes turning into slits.

Sasuke wrapped around him, grounding slowly as he kissed him gently on the lips before trailing more kisses on his jaw. Huh?

"Bastard?" tried Naruto tentatively.

Sasuke purred and gave small nibbles to his jaw. Ok. That was just weird. He called him sweetheart and he had gotten bitten. He called him bastard and now he had a mewling Sasuke all over him. Just plain weird. Maybe the whole bathroom incident was also one of his quirks. Whatever. Weird or not he would just take him right here.

Naruto grinned and licked a hard nipple; Sasuke dropped the leg still clasped against Naruto's and slid his hands through the blond hair. It was an unmistakable indication of his pleasure. As Naruto tugged on the towel to take it off, Sasuke pushed him away a little, short of breath.

"Bedroom."

"No," he replied, pushing him even more against the door, claiming his lips, "here." But Sasuke wasn't one to take no for an answer. He wormed out of Naruto's embrace in the blink of an eye. The towel hugged low on his hips, showing the beginning of his bottom, he was already in the middle of the corridor, stilling for a second he tilted his head toward the fuming Naruto.

"Coming?" he teased.

"Bastard!"

Naruto knew someone who was going to scream tonight… and more than once.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû slid the door open and took off his shoes, trying to make as little sound as possible. Heavy footsteps told him he hadn't succeeded.

"I can still hear you. Do you never learn?" reprimanded his father, towering above him. "You will never make a good ninja. To think my only son is this useless. I will never have the pride of seeing you as an Anbu."

Ryû kept his head low, listening to his father incessant criticism. He should be used to it by now but it still hurt. His father was right, he never learned, not even how to tune him out.

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you, boy!" Ryû's head snapped up on autopilot.

"Better." He was sort of praised when he was obedient. "What did you do to your clothes?" asked his father, his tone back to anger.

"I… I rip-"

"Don't stammer! You're a boy!"

"I ripped the sleeve to make a tourniquet for my team mate, sir" he wasn't allowed to call him father, he wasn't worthy enough.

"Was it necessary for the mission?" seeing Ryû's hesitation, he pushed, "answer me boy."

"No it wasn't, sir."

"As always, how do you want to become a good ninja if you don't listen to me?" Ryû lowered his head once again. He wanted so much to be like his father, strong, proud, powerful, one of the Anbu leaders.

"I'm sor-" began Ryû but he bit his lips, eyes widening a little.

"Do not apologise, boy! It's a sign of weakness!" thundered his father "I told you many times, your team mates are only tools to complete the mission, you take care of something only if it's useful for the mission, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now go see your mother" ordered his father going back to the living room.

"Yes, sir."

Ryû silently made his way toward his parents' bedroom, checking himself in the mirror. Posing he fixed his hair, slapped his face a little to give it some color, and brushed off any traces of dust. He had to look perfect. He should go change his shirt. A screech made him freeze.

"Ryû?" asked a soft feminine voice, barely a whisper, as the screeching became louder and closer.

Ryû turned and smiled broadly at his mother. "Okaa-san" he greeted, kneeling at his mother's wheelchair, the one making the screeching noises. Immediately his mother glided her fingers through his hair, petting him as he rested his cheek on her knees. Long pale blond hair showered him as she bent over him.

"Ryû, sweet Ryû, my dearest son, my precious life," her hands were roaming all over him, checking to see if his skin was still unmarked. A loud gasp resonated as she reached his ripped sleeve.

"Do not worry, Okaa-san, I'm not hurt. I just used it to treat my team mate Silk."

But his mother wasn't listening; she made him take off the shirt, looking at his arm and body as a hawk, brushing with her fingertips each inch of his arm.

"You didn't protect her did you? No one is worthy of your protection. No filthy human," she said in a raspy voice, almost a shriek.

"I'm fine Okaa-san. I never put myself in any danger, I swear," he said soothingly, taking his mother's hands in his, trailing them on his arm. "See? No traces, nothing. I didn't do anything dangerous, I promise."

That seemed to calm her; she tugged him toward her, holding him desperately. "You promised. Remember; always remember this life isn't yours."

"I know Okaa-san, I promise."

"Sweet, sweet Ryû, my precious life, my sweet child, don't let anyone touch you. You promised you will stay with me forever, sweet life."

Ryû nodded and gently untangled himself from his mother. He pushed her wheelchair back to her room and brought her to her bed, tugging her softly. He then knelt next to her, so she could glide her hand in his hair until sleep claimed her.

His father came and groaned at the scene. "Goodnight, Annabelle," he said but received no answer as usual. Ryû's mother only saw and spoke to her son. Her husband didn't exist anymore in her world.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke did scream that night. But not in the way Naruto had expected him to. In the middle of the night Naruto woke up to deafening screams. Sasuke was thrashing in his bed, his body covered in sweat, eyes open but unseeing.

"Sasuke!"

He tried to calm him down; to hug him but Sasuke was fighting him. Finally Naruto slid behind him and wrapped his arms around the dark man's ones, pinning him down and also wrapped his legs around Sasuke's. He kept thrashing, head rolling as his screams continued.

"Yamete! Yamete!"

Naruto didn't try to speak to him. He knew his words wouldn't reach him; he just held him so he wouldn't hurt himself and waited for the crisis to stop. After a short moment Sasuke went limp in his arms, eyes shut. Then his eyes fluttered open; this time Sasuke was awake. Naruto loosened his hold and Sasuke pushed him away, sitting on the bed, holding his head in his hands, calming his breathing.

Naruto didn't make a move toward him. He knew it would be a mistake. Sasuke was ashamed of letting him see that. Naruto was… happy because Sasuke had felt safe enough with him to relax. Sasuke never had nightmares like that during missions. If he didn't want Sasuke to flee or get angry he mustn't try to console him, he had to brush it off as if it was nothing. So, Naruto instead of trying to hug Sasuke and whisper soothing words, just groaned and nuzzled in the bed.

"You're so damn loud and you nearly knocked me out of bed," he remarked.

Sasuke didn't answer and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

Naruto was still wide awake and tense when Sasuke came back. Had he done the right thing? He felt the bed lower under Sasuke's weight. He heard him go under the covers and settle next to him. As he closed his eyes he felt Sasuke's head rest against his back, his heart stopped beating for a moment but he kept perfectly still. Sasuke pressed himself against him, his face now resting against his neck, a hand sliding under his body. It was almost a lover's embrace. Naruto gently rested his hand on Sasuke's. The next moment the dark man was sound asleep. It had been a good move. He couldn't prevent the nightmares, he couldn't stop them either, but at least he was there when he woke up.

"My broken bastard," he whispered.

Someone had told him once that only a broken person could fix another broken one. That was why he needed Sasuke. That was why he would always be there for him. Because life had broken them both, they needed each other. They would accept each other's suffering, not try to annihilate it… it would subdue on its own only if you accepted it.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk sighed. It was already midnight and she wasn't asleep yet. Gouzie was purring next to her, occasionally licking her fingers as she petted her. They had eaten some shellfish and rice and some yogurt for dessert. Silk shared everything with her cat. Gouzie liked to lick the yogurt container.

"If only it would rain," wished Silk, looking hopefully at her window but only a dark sky deprived of clouds met her. She always slept better if it was raining, the soft pounding of the rain lulling her. She could hardly sleep if she wasn't with someone and it wasn't raining.

She looked around the small room; her gaze could take it all in one glance. The kitchen in front of her, near the window, the door to the bathroom and that was all. After all she was all alone with Gouzie. Softly she began to sing trying to coax sleep.

Dawn rose on the world, illuminating the dew that covered everything as if the night had cried at being dispelled. Silk finished tying her obi and tucked her katana on her back. She kissed and petted Gouzie and left the house, making sure to let the window open so the cat could leave if she wanted to, after all there was nothing to steal.

Slowly she made her way on the deserted street toward the graveyard. Dew appeased her, it gave the impression that it had rained, it made the air feel fresher. As she reached her destination, she saw a familiar shape standing in front of the memorial. Scarecrows were supposed to make birds like her flee but this one only made her feel safer. At least, she wasn't alone. Wasn't it funny that the only place where she wasn't alone was a graveyard?

Kakashi-sensei stepped back a little to make room for her. Gently she sat on her usual stone, just next to the memorial from where she could observe both the memorial and her silent companion. Her hands tightened slightly around the katana she had placed on her knees.

Hours passed in silence, both lost in their memories. The wind being the only one to whisper as if troubled to see two people sharing the passed-away silent vow. As time continued to flee, uncaring, the wind fetched clouds to protect the two from the rising sun. When the sun finally stood in the sky, dispelling the darkness completely and evaporating the night's tears, Kakashi turned toward Silk. If they ever spoke to each other it was always at this moment, never before.

"Good morning, Silk," he greeted, his only visible eye curving slightly, showing he was smiling under his mask.

"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei."

He waved at her and lazily walked away. Rain started to pour on them and Silk stood to let it caress her body and melt away her loneliness. It was on a day just like this one when Kakashi had first spoken to her at the graveyard. He had asked who she was visiting. She had answered it was her parents, both of them.

"Kakashi-sensei," she called. Surprised he turned toward her, he had almost left. She padded toward him and giving a last glance to her Kanata presented it to him. Kakashi's eye smiled and he brushed the perfectly preserved katana with his fingers. He looked expectantly at her.

"I don't need it anymore. I'm becoming stronger and I believe this is yours," she stated.

"It was yours as soon as you picked it up. Keep it. When strength seems to fail you it will make it come back from within you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Naruto entered the kitchen breakfast was ready. Sasuke had always been the first one to get up, even before Sakura. Naruto sat grudgingly at the table, waiting for Sasuke before starting to eat. Sasuke gave him some water and sat down.

"When is your next mission?" wondered Naruto

"In two days," he replied, biting one of his tomatoes, arching one eyebrow to return the question.

"Tomorrow. I'm off today. How about eating ramen with my team and me at noon?"

"Hn."

"That's settled then! I'm going to grab some things from my apartment and I'll come back here ok?" concluded Naruto, already on his feet like the hyperactive person he was. He was already giving Sasuke a headache. As he slammed the door shut Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.

He rose from his chair and looked around the kitchen; he could see his parents' old belongings, each at their proper place. Firmly he stepped toward their cups and grabbed them, ready to shut them in the cupboard in the attic. All he had to do was leave the kitchen with them and put them away. He stayed rooted in place and finally put them back on their old spot. He couldn't do it yet.

Grumping at his own stupidity he went to the sink to wash the dishes from last evening and this morning. A plate was smashed, slowly he cupped the pieces. Maybe he should ask Naruto to come by more often. That way he wouldn't need to muster the courage to get rid of his family's old belongings, Naruto would break them one by one. He smirked at the thought.

"SASUKE!" screamed Naruto entering his house like a cannonball, almost tripping as he entered the kitchen, shoes still on his feet.

"That was fast," he stated pointing at the blonde's shoes.

"Burnt!" yelped Naruto, looking desperate and letting himself fall on a chair, kicking his shoes off while glaring at him, before resuming looking as if the world had just crashed on his head.

"What your brain? That's not news."

"My apartment, bastard! My apartment! They could save some stuff but almost everything was burned down," moaned Naruto, making gestures and finally crashing his head on his crossed arms on the table.

"Oh," was all Sasuke said.

"I have to find another place. Damn. Wonder if I'll be able to find a cheap place where the landlord doesn't mind me being the Kyuubi's vessel. Even our old picture of team 7 was burned."

Sasuke sighed and gave him a small kick under the table. Naruto glared at him.

"You smashed a plate in the sink?" asked Sasuke, arms crossed on his chest.

"Yeah," replied Naruto wondering how that was linked with anything else.

"Ok."

A moment of silence passed between them. Sasuke was looking strangely at him. Naruto frowned. What? He had smashed a plate; it wasn't the end of the world! His apartment had burned to a crisp and Sasuke only cared about his broken plate? Had it belonged to his grandmother or something? She was dead so she wouldn't miss it. He didn't care! All his belongings had gotten burned and he was still alive to miss them. He knew Sasuke was just going to ask him to replace the damn plate. But no way in hell he was going to do it. It was _his_ fault that he had broken it in the first place!

Ah he was seeing it coming, dark moody Sasuke his arms firmly crossed on his chest, ready to lash at him. He wasn't going to replace the plate, no way. Finally Sasuke spoke again, Naruto waiting for him on the corner.

"Come live with me."

There!

"No." Take that bastard!

Sasuke got up so fast the chair fell, hurt flashing in his eyes before being crushed under cold indifference. Naruto jumped a little, surprised, so much for a damn pla… wait… WHAT?

Sasuke was already at the door, heading to his bedroom. Naruto caught him but was harshly pushed away. Naruto literally hung himself on Sasuke to keep him there.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Sorry I thought you were going to ask me to replace the damn plate," he mumbled hurriedly.

Silence. At least he had stopped pushing him away.

"You know I'm a moron," offered Naruto, grinning sheepishly. "One lucky moron…"

Sasuke tensed form relaxed a little in his arms and Naruto sighed in relief. That had been a close one. As he grazed Sasuke's thigh with his fingers, the raven turned to face him and gave him a peck.

"Let's make you at home."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara made his mother swear that she would not call him _egg_ in front of his friends before he went downstairs to help at the Ramen stand. His team and teacher would arrive soon.

"The sun makes my hair shine even more," greeted Ryû, smiling as he saw Ibara's mother almost run toward him, her layers of clothes flying around her. He braced himself for the hug and succeeded at keeping his smile intact during the bone-crushing embrace. He had a lot of practice. Ibara's mother ruffled his hair before leaving to help in the kitchen.

"I don't understand. You're able to face one of my mother's hugs and still _smile_ even if you're facing a slow and painful death by crushing, but you can't fight?" pondered Ibara, sitting next to his friend.

"Well, she hugs harder if you struggle or stop smiling because she seems to think you need more love," replied Ryû.

"I will have to remember that," muttered Ibara, turning to wave as Silk made her way toward them. He sighed as he saw his mother poke her head out of the kitchen giving a frenzied squeal.

"Silk-chan!" and there was his mother grabbing Silk and pressing her against her many layers of clothes, Silk's feet weren't touching the ground anymore.

"Is it me or Silk's hand is beginning to twitch?" asked Ryû just as Mrs Ji let go off her hold.

"Take a deep breath," advised Ibara as a slightly wavering Silk came to sit next to them.

"Good morning, Ibara," she said, giving a curt nod before turning toward Ryû. She had decided to make an effort, for the team's sake. "Morning, Ryû."

Ryû's mouth fell open as he stared at her as if she had just said she was pregnant. "Are you sick? Do you want something? I know! You're not Silk, you're an enemy!" he babbled before Ibara hit him for disrespecting a woman. Silk giggled and they started to chat just like in the old times when team 5 had just begun.

"Hey Naruto-sensei is late, that's strange," remarked Ibara, frowning.

They had been waiting for 15 minutes already. As he saw Ryû grin and open his mouth, undoubtedly to make a stupid comment about Kakashi-sensei, he kicked him hard under the table. He would protect the team's newly found peace!

Ryû winced, gave him a hateful gaze but got the message. "Maybe he's with that pink haired girl trying to smooth things out," he proposed.

Silk looked at her team. How Ibara tried to prevent Ryû from making a blunder and how well they got along. And she was a part of it. Ryû always attempted to attract her attention and Ibara protected her feelings.

"I hope we're never like that. I want us to stay together…" whispered Silk, blushing a little.

Oh. So that was why she was being nice to Ryû, thought Ibara. Last night's events had shocked her. He was going to reassure her but Ryû beat him to it.

"Of course we are! We're going to always be together. We're a team," he boasted, taking hold of their hands. "It's a promise!"

"Really?" asked Silk, eyes watering just a little.

"Hai!" assured Ryû, grabbing both his team mates by the shoulders. Ibara stared at Ryû's hand on Silk's shoulder, daring him to put it lower. You could never be too careful when it came to Ryû…

"Oh isn't it cute?"

"I would rather say it's disgusting, could make me throw up."

They turned as one, to see a team of seniors sizing them up with disdain. Strange, Ryû hadn't insulted them yet … but he would soon remedy it.

"What do you want?" inquired Ibara.

"Such displays of affection just make us sick. That's all, keep playing kids," answered a redhead, turning on his heels. "You coming or what?" he snapped at his team.

"What? Jealous? Want to try us out? Or are you afraid of being beaten by 'kids'?" taunted Ryû.

Ibara groaned. He knew it. Why hadn't Ryû born mute? Silk shook her head in resignation. But the other team didn't seem to acknowledge the provocation. Ryû stood up, pushing Ibara's hand as he tried to stop him.

"Not able to stand behind your words?" pressed Ryû, making Ibara bend his head in despair, as if _he_ could say that! "Let me guess, you're a shitty team and you're jealous of our unbreakable link!"

Ibara gasped as Silk's eyes turned to slits. He dared use their promise to pick a fight? Her fingers closed around her katana. Ryû was always like that, and the other team had started it, she reasoned.

Angry, the team leader threw a shuriken. Ryû snatched it before it could reach anyone. Silk smiled, he couldn't help but boast and try to prove himself but he had understood! This time he would be with them. Silk bolted to her feet and drew her Katana, standing next to Ryû, Ibara muttering but following her example. They were a team.

The fight began, Silk attacking and Ibara covering for her with a curtain of bloody rain. Ryû simply leaned on a wall and watched them, not taking part, as usual. He didn't even order them around; they could deal with it on their own.

But things weren't going exactly as planned, they had some difficulties, after all they were fighting against seniors. Just as it was about to turn to their disadvantage, they sort of got saved.

"Oy! Silk, Ibara, what are you doing?" yelled Naruto, coming their way, Sasuke trailing behind him, a scowl on his features and wearing a turtleneck.

"Fuck, teachers. You just got saved, dummies," said the leader before leaving with his team.

Ibara sighed in relief and turned toward his teacher, missing Silk's angry and deceived expression, she was looking at her katana in a strange way. Ryû squealed at seeing Sasuke, running a hand through his hair to make sure he looked good.

Ibara's mother, who had watched from afar the whole ordeal, popped out of the blue to greet Naruto. The latter opening his arms wide.

"Your mother really is a hugging machine," pointed out Ryû in awe.

"I've noticed, thanks," replied Ibara dryly. He was the one who had to live with her.

"Hi Ramenbasan!" he welcomed meeting her halfway and returning her bone crushing hug, grinning.

And then Mrs Ji noticed Sasuke. Ibara and Ryû eyed each other and gulped.

"Oh Sasuke Uchiha I suppose! I've heard of you, dear."

A gleam appeared in her eyes as she eyed the dark handsome scowling man, arms crossed on his chest. A smile lighted her features as she came toward him, reaching to hug him. Naruto snickered. Sasuke crooked an eyebrow and gave her one of his infamous cold glares. Ibara's mother wavered a little under the stare. Sasuke smirked and before she could pull herself back together and hug him, he held out his hand to shake hers. She took it before fleeing back to her kitchen.

"Whoa, Sasuke-sama's the best! He stopped her!" whistled Ryû. "Don't you think so Sil-" he stopped in his tracks. Silk was glaring at him, hurt and disappointment darkening her features, tears filling her eyes and threatening to spill any second.

"What's wrong?" asked a startled Ryû before Ibara could stop him.

Silk violently shook and glanced at her Katana, she had even drawn it for him.

"Ryû! You liar! How can you consider yourself as a part of the team when you let Ibara and I do all the work? You don't even help when our life is on the line! You can't even protect yourself! You're only a rich kid, a spoiled rotten brat! You're so full of yourself even if all you do is whine and hide! You're pathetic! A… a… pitiful being!"

"When even your team mate says so, you shame me," answered a deep voice from behind them.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto chewed the inside of his cheek not to howl with laughter when Mrs Ji tried to hug Sasuke. It wouldn't do to anger him even more. After the whole plate ordeal, they had begun to make some arrangements in the house to get Naruto installed. They had bought everything they needed and brought back what had been saved from the fire.

Naruto had had the bad idea to slap Sasuke on the ass while he plugged Naruto's radio in the living room. Hey, he couldn't help it! Who could with such a perfect ass wriggling right under their nose? Sasuke had been trying to plug the thing without moving the table, surprised by the improper action; he had lost his balance and crashed ungracefully on the floor, the radio on his lap and a vase on his head. To aggravate his case Naruto had split his sides laughing.

They had ended up fighting in the house. Naruto, seeking refuge in the kitchen, broke two cups that had been left carelessly on the sink, before going back to the living room, still being chased by a fuming Sasuke. Naruto had then tripped on the scattered cushions he had used earlier to slow down Sasuke (sending all the pictures that had been perfectly organized on a table flying) and his lover had mercilessly dropped ice-cubes (that he grabbed while in the kitchen, when Naruto had taken refuge behind the freezer) down his shirt.

The Uchiha had then made the mistake to turn his back to Naruto when a portrait hanging on the wall had finally crashed on the floor. Naruto took this opportunity to pin him down on his face, sit on his back and explain how he couldn't have possibly resisted such a blatant invitation as a wriggling ass, to which Sasuke retorted that he hadn't wriggled his ass (Uchihas don't wriggle!) and had only been trying to plug the radio. To which Naruto replied that it was because Sasuke was an ice-prince that he had to use such low means to make Naruto understand that he wanted to get jumped. Sasuke had protested vigorously, claiming his innocence until Naruto had ground his pelvis against him. Sasuke had used his momentary weakness to free himself and pin Naruto down to give him the best kiss he had ever had. Which had lead to very pleasant activities, and a wriggling -oh pardon- a "contorting" Sasuke.

It had been perfect, in the afterglow Naruto had been drawing each curve of his lover's body (once drained he was surprisingly docile), until the Uchiha had looked at the clock and threw him aside because they were going to be late to their meeting with team 5. Naruto had tried to drag him back next to him, whining that they were only brats and that Kakashi used to make them wait for hours. Sasuke would have none of it (Uchihas didn't arrive late, even if it was for brats) and had dashed to the bathroom.

Naruto didn't complain seeing a very nice opportunity drawing itself. Hint: shower + naked Sasuke + horny him ::: being even more late... Unfortunately Naruto had been right the other night about Sasuke's quirks; nobody could be with him in the bathroom. They fought, Sasuke trying to close the door and Naruto trying to sneak in, arguing that they would be less late if they showered together (hey, that's what excuses were for). Sasuke had made him eat the soap for his blatant lie and had locked the door while Naruto was busy grimacing at the awful taste.

Naruto had his vengeance only moments later when Sasuke noticed all the hickeys he had left all over his body and, of course, neck. Through the door Naruto pointed out Sasuke hadn't complained when he made them. How Sasuke managed to open the door, throw a soap bar (how many did the bastard have?) right in his mouth (damn him for having such good aim) and close it right back on his face without even let him _glimpse_ at his naked form was still a mystery.

They had arrived twenty minutes late. Naruto took his sweet time in the shower as retaliation until Sasuke threatened to make him eat all the bathroom's soap bars if he didn't move his ass. Naruto considered wriggling his ass at Sasuke's face (Sasuke had said "move your ass" after all) but just to be safe he checked the cupboards and yelped. Sasuke had tons of soap! Naruto surrendered, he just knew that the bastard was able to put his threat into action, and enjoy it.

Naruto was dragged back from his memories when Silk lost her nerve and began to yell at Ryû. Sasuke suddenly grabbed him by the elbow and Naruto saw with horror Ryû's father coming their way. Arriving just in time to hear half of Silk's ranting.

"When even your team mate says so, you shame me," answered a deep voice from behind them.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû turned toward his father, face white as a sheet.

"Sir, I am sor-" The sharp slap of his father's hand on his face made him silent.

Ibara stepped in immediately. He knew Ryû's father very well, after all he had been Ryû's friend since they had started in the academy.

"Sir, she's angry because he only orders us around without ever taking part in the fight."

Sasuke blinked. How was that supposed to appease the angry man? Ibara had seemed a lot cleverer than that. But Mr. Tokage indeed calmed down a little, nodding toward Ibara. Sasuke went inside the Ramen shop to order the food; he didn't give a damn about all this. He stayed within earshot and kept looking with one distracted eye.

"I see. So you do listen to what I say sometimes. But as always you're unworthy of my advice. I told you not to take care of your team if it's not useful for the mission. You managed to tear your clothes, knowing it would make your mother angry, just to treat a weakling. But you don't help during fights when it's useful? Well, at least you use your brain, as pitiful as it is."

Naruto ground his teeth. Tokage's philosophy was very simple: never apologize, never help unless it is strictly necessary, put the mission before everything, and medic-nins were only an inconvenience in missions (they didn't fight for real).

"None of my plans has ever failed, sir," boasted Ryû not really looking at his father, he looked above his shoulder. His father half-smiled.

Tokage always belittled Ryû and encouraged him to be boastful (it was a sign of strength, even if you aren't truly strong you must pretend you are) and the only moment he congratulated his son was when he said well placed hurtful things.

"And Silk is overreacting. She's soft-hearted, sir." This time Ryû earned a full smile from his father. Ibara swore he would strangle him for that as he saw Silk proudly enter the Ramen shop.

"At least I have the guts to fight," she said before disappearing under the curtain.

"Such a stupid girl," remarked Mr. Tokage before turning toward Naruto, finally acknowledging him. "But I suppose I shouldn't expect more with a teacher like you," he said disdainfully.

"Sensei is great," said Ryû before he could stop himself, he bit his lip as his father's eyes grew cold.

Naruto smiled, that had come from the heart. Ibara nodded eagerly. Mr. Tokage huffed and sized Naruto up, snorting with scorn.

"You're worth nothing..You're just a prankster, a filthy thing. The Hokage should have let me choose another teacher for Ryû."

"The apple never falls far from the tree," answered Sasuke coming back with the Ramen, Silk behind him, helping him out.

"What?" yelled Mr. Tokage turning sharply, his features changed drastically. "Uchiha-san, what a pleasure!"

Sasuke stood next to Naruto, brushing his hips. "I agree with Ryû" the latter gaped. "Naruto isn't a bad teacher." Mr. Tokage frowned slightly but didn't argue. "Furthermore I feel insulted," to that Ryû's father whitened, eyes bulging out a little. "I trained Ryû and his team during his last mission."

"Oh. I did notice he had improved," replied Mr Tokage, looking strangely at his son, who was looking amazed at Sasuke.

"Furthermore Silk isn't a weakling. Nor is Naruto a filthy thing," snapped Sasuke, drilling the man with eyes that had a hint of red in them. Naruto squeezed his hand rapidly in warning.

"I know he is your team mate, Uchiha-san, and I don't know your link with this… girl. But you don't know what I know about them."

Naruto had clenched his hand but he wasn't stupid enough to pick a fight now, he would prove them all wrong, he would become Hokage.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," growled Sasuke. Naruto pinched him, this wasn't necessary.

Ryû's father didn't seem to hear that and went on, "for example this girl isn't even from the Leaf."

At this all eyes grew wide and turned toward Silk. Tokage blew his chest a little, glad of the effect of his words. "Yes, she's from the Rain."

Silk blinked at that. "Why does that make me less of a ninja?" she asked.

Tokage laughed scornfully, "You're a danger just like this Kabuto! He wasn't from our village to begin with and he betrayed us! You can't be trusted; you will always be a Rain."

Sasuke stared at Silk and Tokage smirked, sure he had made his point, until…

"You're from the Rain? Is that how you met Itachi?" asked Sasuke, having completely forgotten about Tokage. Silk nodded and Naruto had to bite his cheeks at Tokage's distraught face. As soon as you spoke of Itachi nothing else was worthy of Sasuke's attention, it had always been like that. And now that he was dead, Sasuke hung to every memory he could find of his brother. Well every good memory, the bad ones would never leave him.

Tokage brushed his clothes to appear composed. "Uchiha-san, I will see you for your mission, rest well," he said leaving with a slightly bruised ego.

Before Sasuke could begin to interrogate Silk, Naruto grabbed the ramen. "Let's eat!"

"You're from the Rain?" asked Ryû flabbergasted, looking startled. Naruto knew this had to be dealt with, especially since Ryû listened far too much to his father.

"Go ahead, don't trust me, I don't care. I don't trust you either. After all you're ready to let me die. It's as if you're the one who's not from the Leaf," answered Silk, sitting and starting to eat.

Sasuke smirked. Naruto blinked, whoa who would have thought she could be this cutting. He would have to remember not to get on her bad side; she had a sharp and witty tongue.

"Why didn't you tell us?" pressed Ryû, ignoring her cutting remark.

"Because I was three when I came to the Leaf, I didn't think it was important. I always thought of myself as a Leaf shinobi."

"But…" began Ryû.

"Shut up! That doesn't change anything! And it's her business. She's part of the team," cut Ibara.

He nearly added, "But seeing what you said about Silk only to look good in front of your father I wonder if you really are" but stopped himself, this wasn't something to deal with right now. Silk had said she had chosen who she was; Ibara agreed but still thought sometime you just couldn't help yourself. He knew what Ryû's life was like and believed he couldn't settle it on his own, he needed people to help him change.

At that moment Ibara's mother came out of her kitchen, holding shrimp chips. "That's a treat for beating that bad man!" she said, dismissing the awkward atmosphere.

"And I saw what you did, young man," she said turning toward Sasuke who glared at her, unfazed. And then she crushed him against her and left, a triumphant smile on her lips. Sasuke stood frozen on the spot, under team 5 and Naruto's very amused gaze. The hugging machine had struck once again.

"Hey? Are you shell-shocked, Sasuke?" Naruto asked playfully, earning a hard slap on his head. They all finally sat down and started to eat. Everything was as usual, Silk ignoring Ryû, Ibara trying to smooth things out, Naruto teasing everyone, Sasuke being silent or hn-ing. Yet, all knew something was off, Ryû wasn't his usual self nor were Silk and Sasuke.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(1) I don't plan to use this idea. The story will end before Sasuke is going to artificially inseminate women and use his brother's sperm to rebuild his clan. I think Konoha would have wanted to take Itachi's seed in order to revive the clan (it's easiest if they have two specimens lol). And since I'm not really a fan of Mpreg (sorry to those who were hoping for it). That's how I see it if Sasuke wants children.

Damn I was supposed to do a lot more in this chapter, and it's my longest one… I wonder how I always manage to come up with more things to add. I guess it's going to be a long fic… I hope I won't end up boring you.  
For those who might be wondering, the Sakura ordeal isn't finished yet.

Please review!

Next chapter: Rain


	6. Rain

**Chapter ****6: Rain**

I will never say it enough, but thanks to my Beta.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

Thanks too to the people who actually took the time to help me by reviewing.

Sorry! I'm awfully late, but my Beta had some troubles and didn't have time to correct this chapter.

**Necrophile**, **Cfox**, **MeEksiN** you have a small message at the end of the chapter.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silence. Not even the padding of his feet could be heard as he wandered around the house. If he closed his eyes long enough he could distinguish the soft beating of the bamboo in the garden's pond. He could also guess the whispers of his mother as she read and feel his father's eyes dashing regularly toward them. He could remember his brother studying a scroll and a younger him sharpening Itachi's equipment with concentration and care, feeling so proud of himself. His brother would grace him with a glance and a half a smile every time he lowered a perfectly sharpened weapon on the ground.

As he left the garden and entered the hallway his mind evoked his mother's scent and once again ghosts filled the place... his father taking off his shoes and vest, his movements brushing his mother's scarf and spreading her perfume throughout the room.

Time passed by and his father's ghost left while another one took his place. This time it was Itachi seating on the threshold getting ready to leave. Sasuke hesitated a little, shifting nervously on his feet, but finally dashed toward his brother and held him tight. "Be safe," he whispered as his nose was filled with Itachi's scent, but only briefly... soon another smell irritated his nostrils, blood. Screams echoed in the silent house. Red cold eyes and his brother's familiar form stared down at him… he opened his eyes.

Yes. He remembered now, they were only ghosts… all of them. Even if he pricked up his ears he wouldn't be able to hear the bamboo, because it was broken and Sasuke didn't have the heart to fix it. Everything was so silent that the bamboo's faint beating in his mind sounded like crying, and yet he couldn't shed a tear. Or maybe it sounded like a clock, telling him to keep living, reproaching him every second of Itachi's breath. Or maybe it was more like a heart beat… but nothing lived in that house anymore and an avenger didn't need a heart.

Sasuke reached the living room. A blond boy was laughing, throwing cushions at him. Later the blond was mapping his body. _It's just a memory, not yet a ghost_, he reminded himself.

The portrait that used to hang on the wall was still broken on the floor, glass shards glinting under the sunlight. Sasuke looked at the picture, it was Itachi's. Sasuke hadn't destroyed all of Itachi's pictures, in fact he hadn't destroyed a single one… he had just taken off all the ones that were in his room. His bedroom was the only room in the house that had really changed during the years. Now, a blond was making the house evolve again, as if breathing life into it.

Silence. He was alone. He had been training all day and now he was here, all alone. Strange, during missions he didn't have this empty feeling. He was used to the loneliness. He had always lived alone… but something was lacking. Why? His existence didn't use to feel so hollow. Was it because he missed Naruto? Was it because he had tasted life in a lively house again? No… it was something deeper. Sasuke closed his eyes and a familiar face was imprinted on his eyelids. Looking tired, so far away… Itachi. That was what he lacked… even training wasn't the same… he didn't have a goal anymore. Itachi had always been the center of his life and now he was dead. Everyone was dead. Why was he still alive? Why hadn't he died with Itachi? He wasn't needed anymore… a glint caught his eyes.

Sasuke stared at the shattered pieces of glass on the floor… the light made them look even more beautiful, like tears or dew in the morning. He was drawn to them. He lowered himself on the floor and brushed them with his hand, feeling their sharpness bite his flesh. Blood was dripping; it was a gorgeous sight, blood on tears, crystal stained by crimson. He pressed his hand, feeling the glass puncture his flesh, he needed this pain. The hollowness was leaving. It was better to feel pain than to feel nothing at all. He leaned more on the glass, both his hands and arms feeling the sharp biting of glass, red was everywhere. Light reflected on both blood and bloodied glass. And it was beautiful, it felt so good, it was numbing.

A gentle purring and the soft feeling of fur on his ankle caught his attention. Silk's cat was rubbing against him, purring.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Naruto grumbled checking his bag one last time. The bastard ha__d locked himself in the bathroom again! And Naruto had only been at it three times last night… not enough. Especially since the bastard hadn't made a sound. Hell, Naruto was the one moaning like an idiot! Sometimes he wondered who the seme really was… even if Sasuke hadn't try to top even once. Funny. Oh well it wasn't as if they had been doing it for a long time. It had been a week since their confrontation with Sakura and she hadn't shown up once since. Sasuke's and Naruto's missions for that week had only lasted a day, so they had really enjoyed each other's company._

_Sighing Naruto sat on the floor. Sasuke was acting as if he didn't care that Naruto was leaving for four days. Not that he expected him to act any other way, but… even if they hadn't been involved for a long time, even if they hadn't made love a lot… Naruto had noticed some facts about Sasuke; no one could be with him in the bathroom, he seemed to refuse to be taken from behind (Naruto wasn't completely sure about this one, but until now Sasuke had always faces him, even if Naruto caught him from behind), but the most important thing was that Naruto had told him "I love you" at least five times already and all he had ever gotten was "Hn." He would have been happy with a mere "me too…" _

_"Dobe?" asked Sasuke, fully dressed and standing next to him. _

_Naruto didn't even notice him come out. He stood and stretched a little. He had to leave, but he didn't want to leave before saying goodbye to Sasuke. _

_"I'm off," he said, kissing Sasuke on the lips._

_"See you," answered Sasuke, turning on his heels. _

_Naruto sighed, what had he been expecting? Throwing his bag over his shoulder he put on his shoes and reached for the door. _

_"Sasuke." _

_"Dobe?" answered the raven, turning, an eyebrow lifted. _

_"I love you," stated Naruto, awfully serious. _

_"Hn."_

_Ok. That __would wait for later, but he was definitely going to bring it up. Clenching his fists a little he opened the door with a bit too much strength and his eyes grew wide. _

_"Silk?" he exclaimed, looking stunned. What the hell was she doing here? They were supposed to meet at the gate. Startled he looked at his watch. Nope. He wasn't late._

_"Naruto-sensei, good morning," greeted Silk. "I didn't take the main path this time, is Sasuke-sensei here?" _

_"Hn," replied Sasuke already standing next to Naruto. The latter groaned, annoyed. So Mr ice-cube came immediately for Silk when he used to make Naruto bang and scream at his door for minutes before opening. Asshole._

_"Morning Sasuke-sensei__," and then the girl turned and grabbed two packages. She dropped them on the floor inside of house and then picked up something else. _

_"This is Gouzie," she introduced the blue-grey Persian, who was purring in her arms._

_Both Naruto and Sasuke stared at the __packages; one was cat litter and the other cat food. Naruto blinked, not believing what he was seeing. Sasuke only crooked an eyebrow and looked at Silk. She began to blush and fidget a little._

_"I… well I don't like leaving Gouz all alone and since Sasuke-sensei is staying…could you take care of her? Please? I'm sure she won't be an inconvenience. Please? I'm really sorry but Ibara's mother is allergic to cats…" and she began to rant on how her cat was very nice and sweet, that she would feel much better knowing that she wouldn't be home alone, and that Gouzie didn't need much attention. All that peppered with apologizes every ten seconds._

_Naruto began to laugh his ass off, leaning on the door frame for support. __Sasuke hadn't moved an inch and his eyes seemed glued to Silk and her cat. Blushing Silk hid herself in her cat's fur. _

_"Don't worry Gouz, he's nice… and you have to keep him company so he won't feel lonely with Naruto-sensei gone__," she whispered._

_Naruto smiled softly before looking at his lover. If he had heard that, Sasuke had too. __The latter reached toward Silk, grabbed the cat by the nape and dropped it in his house. Then he pushed Naruto out and closed the door on them. _

_"He's angry__," gulped Silk, tears gathering in her eyes. _

_"Nope," answered Naruto, as he left to meet with the rest of the team. Sasuke tolerated things from Silk that he wouldn't from other. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke stared at the purring cat and raised his hand to scratch him but froze. He was covered in blood. He blinked at the mess he had made… until now he had never ever used pain to forget. Never.

"Damn you Itachi… you really messed me up," he muttered raising and picking up all the pieces.

Gouz followed him, still purring and rubbing against his legs, almost making him fall. Grumping at the annoying cat he checked its dish and frowned. It had food and water, why was it rubbing against him like that? Whatever.

Sasuke took out all the pieces from his hands and arms and washed the bleeding cuts. Gouz kept passing between his legs, rubbing, purring and even rubbing against furniture, then pushing him a little with her head. Damn cat, it was distracting him. Once bandaged (he kept a first aid kit in his kitchen) he lowered himself and glared at the cat.

"What the hell do you want? You have food and water, you annoying thing."

His only answer was a louder purr and a nudge to his hand. Distractedly he scratched the cat's neck and sighed as the cat literally became a purring and rubbing machine. Sasuke realized it needed love too.

A blond smiling face appeared in his mind. Pain wasn't the only solution, the softness of Gouz's fur kept him in this world too. Yes. He wasn't alone, Naruto was still alive. He was his link to this world. He had lived for revenge, for Itachi. Now he had to live for Naruto. He had people who cared about him.

"Naruto…" he whispered. Looking at his bandaged arms he sighed, he couldn't be left alone right now, not with his mind in this state. Itachi's death still unsettled him… seeing some Akatsuki members hadn't helped. Especially now that he knew Kabuto had survived and had joined them as an underling.

"Meow," reproached the cat, nudging him as he had stopped petting her. He went back to scratching it and chuckled as it flattened on the floor purring as a raging river. Finally he wasn't alone… _you should get a pet_.

Sasuke snatched the cat, put it on his shoulder and went out into the night.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sakura nervously pulled at her gloves and straightened up her hair for the hundredth time. She had to apologize to Sasuke for her behavior. Yet she was scared of his reaction, he had been so cold… so hard on her. But she didn't want to lose him. Naruto had taken him away romantically but she would keep him as a friend. Until now she had avoided the two of them.

As she reached the main street she saw his form. Why was he out so late at night? She had waited until now to be sure that he wouldn't be training and until today to be sure that Naruto wouldn't be there since he was still out on his four day mission.

"Sasuke!" she called, rushing toward him.

He turned toward her and rose from his crouching position holding a bag in his hands. His bandaged hands, even his arms were bandaged and blood was beginning to soak through.

"You're hurt! What happened?" she shrieked snatching one arm to inspect it.

As she undid the bandages her expression changed. These weren't cuts from fighting or training. All those gashes and holes, it was very strange. The wound had been barely cleaned and obviously not disinfected. Dried blood clots wouldn't allow the wounds to heal. Sasuke hadn't treated the wounds properly. He had merely removed whatever had caused the wounds and covered them with bandages. His other arm was in the same state.

Sakura tentatively looked at him, ready to ask him what he had done. She met a cold and hard glare, almost daring her to ask. She gulped; she wasn't here to pick another fight with him. She would warn Naruto about the strange wounds as soon as he came back.

"I… I wanted to apologize… for last time… I said awful things… I'm sorry."

"Don't do it _ever_ _again,_ Sakura, because I won't forgive you twice… and I won't let you get away with it so easily."

She gave him a curt nod; shivering at the harshness of his words and the almost killing aura he had let slip for a second. He removed his arm from her hold. She closed her fingers a little and he stopped, lifting an eyebrow.

"Let me cure this. It's the least I can do."

"Fine," he answered sternly, shifting his bag to let her work.

Moulding her Chakra she began to erase all the cuts, frowning at the peculiarity of some holes. They must have been made with something with really sharp edges, he had obviously pressed against it and he seemed to have dragged his arms all over it, making some grooves. These were self inflicted wounds.

She glanced at him and shuddered as Sharingan eyes met her. She stilled her movements. Sasuke immediately snatched his arm from her and under her eyes erased all the wounds, using her technique.

"That sure is useful," he stated, looking at his unmarked skin. As he did his bag opened a little and a smell reached Sakura's nostrils. She stared at the bag.

"What…" she began, but he cut her off.

"Shrimp."

She blinked. A bag full of shrimp? What if it went bad? He could get intoxicated and… was he was going to eat them all?

"Since you seem to be wondering, it's not for me," and he crouched down, Sakura lowering her eyes to see what he was doing. Her mouth hit the floor. What the hell was wrong with Sasuke? He had lost it!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Their B rank mission had gone smoothly. They had completed their mission without trouble. But the team work and ambiance was just horrible. Ibara and him were pulling their hairs out… well Naruto was since Ibara had no hair to pull out. Silk wasn't speaking to Ryû. That wasn't new, but now Ryû wasn't speaking to her either. He didn't show off to impress her anymore; he didn't even give her orders. If he had to use her for his plans, he would only use her for small tasks that weren't vital to the plan. Visibly he had stopped trusting her. Naruto didn't know who he should strangle the father or the son.

It was past midnight when they finished their report to the Hokage. The old hag had spoken in private with Naruto to make sure he hadn't seen anything suspicious and that they hadn't encountered any Akatsuki members. He was tired and didn't want to cook but at this hour, everything was closed. It was all the hag's fault!

"Ibara, do you think your parents are still up?" he asked, hoping to grab some Ramen.

Ibara turned towards him, relief all over his face. Well, Naruto could see why, he had to walk between his two silent friends, or try to talk to both of them. Poor guy.

"No, I don't think so, they must be sleeping."

Naruto whined and started to drag himself even more, depressed.

"Didn't you warn them you were coming back late today? Won't they be waiting for you with a nice bowl of Ramen?" he asked, drooling at the thought.

Ibara shook his head. He was always very evasive with his parents about how long his missions were. This was very important. If he gave them a time and wasn't home on time, he would make them worry and he would suffer a oh-my-god-you're-back-I-was-so-worried kind of hug, with some tears for good measure and lot of kisses on his head. audDeadly. If he was on time he was sure his mother would be waiting behind the door to jump on him and hug him as if she hadn't seen him for years. So he had settled for only giving them a very very vague time. That way if it was during the day he could have time to drop his things before being crushed (try being hugged with kunai and shuriken under your shirt…) ouch! and if it was during the night, he could sneak in the house and escape the hug altogether. He usually just left a small note in front of his parent's door to let them know he was back.

"No, no, Naruto-sensei, they won't be waiting. Sorry but you will have to cook," he said, smiling as his sensei began to complain.

"I would have gladly invited you but I don't think father will be... happy," pointed out Ryû.

"Even if I sneak in the house and eat your mother's cooking on the sly?" wondered Naruto, eyeing his student carefully.

Just as Naruto had expected, Ryu wavered before pulling himself back together. Ryû never mentioned his mother, but Naruto knew she was alive. He had checked in Ryû's file. Something was going on with her and he wanted to know what. In order to help Ryû grow he had to know what was happening.

"She doesn't cook… she… wouldn't notice you and if she did… she would hate you," muttered Ryû under his breath.

Naruto didn't press the matter further. If he had learned one thing with Sasuke it was to not hurry things. Respecting one's silence and not being nosy was the best way to finally find out what was happening.

"I can cook for you Sensei if you want," offered Silk, always trying to be useful, slowing her pace to walk with him. "I have to go to your house anyway to get Gouz," she reminded him.

Ryû looked at her, but didn't ask even if it was evident how badly he wanted to. Naruto wondered how he was going to put his team back together. And also how he could get off from cooking tonight…

"I know! Since nobody's waiting for you at home, why don't you all come to eat at Sasuke's place?" proposed a cheerful Naruto.

Hehehe, Sasuke had been raised with a strict code and he had always followed it. Meaning he would cook just because he _had_ to be a good host. That was the perfect plan… even if he risked serious retaliation.

Toddling Naruto headed to Sasuke's house, _their_ house, he reminded himself. The kids followed him, looking startled and apprehensive. The same question was bullying them. They went the whole way without speaking, none of them daring to ask the horrible question. Ryû grabbed Ibara's shirt as they reached the Uchiha estate, he still remembered the horrible sight it was. Silk huffed at that and entered the place, head high. She already knew how to reach the house without passing through the main road.

Since no dried blood and horrible sights met his eyes, Ryû let go of Ibara. Naruto was completely oblivious to his students' uneasiness as they reached the house. He opened the door, took off his shoes and went to look for Sasuke, leaving them at the entrance, telling them to wait for him in the lounge.

They took off their shoes and stood rooted in place. Mission: reach the lounge. Obstacle: do not make the floor creak. They all vividly remembered the last time they had been there. Sasuke-sensei had swooped down on them, scaring them for life. The next day Naruto had explained to them that Sasuke lived with the ghosts of his family, that he had left everything in place, and that one had to be careful not to make the same noises one of his family members would have made or to not to use their things.

Gulping Ibara and Ryû stepped over the threshold and took a tentative step. A very loud squeak was heard and they both froze, looking everywhere as if Sasuke-sensei was going to materialize right then to cut them into pieces.

"And how are we supposed to reach the lounge without making the damn floor creak? We don't know the house…" pointed out Ryû.

"Silk, do you remember Sasuke-sensei's footsteps? You followed them last time," inquired Ibara.

"No… I don't. I had went about a quarter of the corridor anyway. Besides… do you know where the lounge is?"

They looked at each other and sighed.

"How about staying here until Naruto-sensei comes back?" proposed Ryû.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," answered Ibara settling on the floor, Silk and Ryû following his example. Silence settled between them. They were all looking around, nervous. And suddenly, Ibara asked the dreaded question, "Say… where are we going to eat?"

That was a very important question, since the house was filled with belongings of the deceased family. How were they supposed to not make a mistake? They wouldn't even be able to sit on a chair without praying for their life… God, they couldn't even _walk_ in this house!

"I think the garden is the safest place," murmured Silk, "or maybe the toilet… but I'm not sure we'll all fit inside."

Ibara had to bit his cheek not to howl with laughter. The three of them began to chuckle, trying desperately not to make too much noise.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Sasuke?" called Naruto, rapidly checking the rooms. It seemed Sasuke was already sleeping.

Naruto grinned wondering how he was going to wake him. His stomach was already growling, waiting to be fed. Naruto slammed the door open.

"Hoy Sasuke-bast- Holy shit!" he exclaimed almost tripping.

Sasuke was indeed in his bed, sprawled on his stomach, head buried in the pillow, his dark hair spread on the sheets. One arm was dangling from the side of the bed, the other one resting above his head. His legs were spread, one slightly higher, his boxer low on his hips, a sheet tangled between his legs, covering one feet and part of his back.

But that wasn't what had made Naruto swear. Not at all. What had surprised him was what was laying on the bed with Sasuke… cats. He would have expected Gouz to be there, but not 8 cats! One was curled next to his head, purring. Another sprawled next to his back, this one was Gouz. One was resting between Sasuke's legs, half of his body buried under the sheet. Another sleeping next to his side, glued to him. One sleeping on Sasuke's back. Another above the arm resting against Sasuke's pillow with its head on the raven's arm. Another curled at Sasuke's feet and the last one sleeping on the floor, just where Sasuke's hand brushed the floor.

Naruto just stood there, dumbfounded. He had told Sasuke to get a pet… but he never expected something like that! What had his lover been thinking? Not that he minded… well he would if the cats kept sleeping with his lover! No one but him had the right to snuggle with Sasuke!

The latter stretched on the bed, groaning. The cat sleeping on his arm shifted to let him move and curled up, yawning. The one sleeping on his back mewled indignantly as it was shoved.

"Oh shut up, Fifi," snapped Sasuke, leaning on his elbows, finally his eyes settled on the blond. "Naruto," he greeted.

"Hi… what the hell are all these cats doing here?" asked Naruto, gesturing towards the cats.

Sasuke motioned him to come and sit next to him. Naruto obliged, scratching his head pensively. As soon as he was seated, Sasuke pointed at the cats, introducing them.

"Well you know Gouz, this is Fifi, Noisette, Réglisse, Iris, Cheyenne, Tigrou, Plume and…" (1) Sasuke scanned the room, obviously a cat was missing. An important one it seemed, since Sasuke got up to look for him, almost frantically.

"Itachi? Itachi where are you?" he called, nearly pleading.

Naruto gaped. Sasuke had lost it again! Gently he tried to coax him to come sit with him. He didn't know how to deal with this; he thought it was all behind. Sasuke left the room and Naruto guessed he was going to go look inside Itachi's room. Maybe he should stop him?

"Ah. There you are," he heard Sasuke and then he was back, holding a mean looking kitten, dark with red eyes and some sort of rings under its eyes.

"And this is Itachi," introduced Sasuke, going back on the bed, letting the kitten jump out of his arms, licking its fur proudly before leaving the room. "I found him on Itachi's bed when I came back from bringing the rest in. He reminds me of Itachi, even the way he acts," explained Sasuke.

"Er… ok… but why all these cats?" wondered Naruto, scratching Plume behind the ears and earning a nice purr. Another one came to sniff at him suspiciously.

"You said I needed company."

Naruto grinned, so he had felt lonely.

"At first I only wanted two, so that they would keep company when I was away on missions… but the shrimps attracted a lot more."

Naruto smiled, leaning on Sasuke's shoulder. He could have bought cats, young kittens, but no, he had chosen to take all the stray cats, the orphans in a sort of way. Sasuke would never admit it out loud, but Naruto knew he was right. His trail of thought was cut off as he was pushed on the bed, Sasuke straddling his hips suggestively, hands making small circles on his chest, brushing his nipples through his vest.

"Sas-" began Naruto but lips drank his words as nimble fingers unzipped his vest and glided under his T-shirt. Sasuke's other hand grabbed Naruto's hand to put it on his lower back, as he began to ground his pelvis against Naruto.

The latter was already short of breath and struggling to keep himself in check. It hadn't been such a good idea to bring Team 5 to eat… for once Sasuke was the one to make the advances!

"Sasuke st-" tried Naruto but a well aimed movement made him gasp, Sasuke's hand gripping his shoulder as he kissed him again. Whoa. He had to stop that now. So that's how Sasuke felt when Naruto was being pushy.

"Kids," gasped Naruto. Sasuke froze dead and the temperature dropped drastically, cobalt eyes boring into him, cold anger radiating from them.

"Don't tell me they are here," hissed Sasuke in a chilly voice. Naruto felt goose bumps and gulped. He was _so_ dead.

"Silk had to take back Gouz… and I thought we could all eat together…" tried Naruto. Sasuke stood up, put on his pants and left. Naruto banged his head a few times on the mattress. Why? Oh why was everything against him?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Team 5's quiet chat (Ibara making the conversation with Ryû and Silk, who were still ignoring each other) went suddenly silent as a scowling Sasuke walked toward them.

"We didn't make the floor squeak," said Ryû defensively, looking scared.

Sasuke gave him a withering look and Ryû shriveled, creeping a little toward Ibara. Even half naked, Sasuke was one scary man. Ibara blinked at him and opened his mouth to ask if he wanted them to leave when a grey-blue cat ran straight to Silk.

"Gouz!" exclaimed Silk, hugging her purring cat.

Scratching could be heard as Naruto and seven cats made their way to them. Itachi was the last one, strolling gently, as if it owned the place. Fifi began to mewl until Ibara scratched her and the other cats either rubbed themselves against Sasuke, Naruto and team 5 or stared suspiciously at them. Itachi sat placidly in the middle of the corridor, lazily licking its fur.

"Ow!" exclaimed Ryû as Gouz bit him. Silk petted her as Sasuke smirked and Naruto chuckled.

"Well let's start cooking so everyone can go back home," said Sasuke, motioning them to follow him to the kitchen. The team 5 members looked at each other and began to gesticulate in order to step precisely on Sasuke's footsteps, the latter making bigger strides than them.

Naruto giggled and mouthed that they could walk normally. A concert of mewling greeted them as Sasuke fed his cats.

"Oh this one is so cute," praised Ryû, lowering next to Itachi and stretching his hand to stroke him. The cat lowered his ears threateningly and Ryû removed his hand.

"You don't know how to act with cats," said Ibara, lowering. "Kitty kitty, oh yes you're a nice kitty, come here."

Ryû stared at him, trying not to laugh. Ibara just kept creeping towards the cat, one hand stretched for him to smell, still calling him names. Itachi hissed, his fur standing a little.

Naruto was shaking with silent laughter. The cat sure acted like Itachi. "Hey Silk, you should try," he proposed, grinning as Sasuke glanced toward them, still pretending to cut the vegetables.

"He doesn't want to be patted, leave him alone," she answered, rolling up her sleeves to help Sasuke prepare dinner. Itachi stretched, gazed toward Silk and rubbed once against Sasuke's leg before leaving.

Ibara washed his hands and started preparing the fish, cutting it in thin slices. Ryû looked from Naruto slouched contentedly on a chair doing nothing and back to Sasuke and his team mates working. Shrugging he began to make different sauces.

"Thanks, Ryû," acknowledged Ibara. He always made it a point of honour to congratulate or point out when Ryû did something like this. He believed he played the counterpart of Ryû's father who would have yelled at Ryû for helping out when not necessary.

But as always, Ryû reacted with instinctive defense, one that would prevent his father from telling him off, which meant behaving like an insufferable brat show-off.

"You'll see I'm the best at cooking! I'm going to outshine you! I…" he began ranting.

"Shut up," snapped Sasuke while giving him some ginger for his sauce. "Cut that for me instead of saying nonsense," he ordered. Ryû beamed at being asked to help and started immediately and _silently_.

Ibara stared. That was it! He had always tried to show Ryû that it was good to help, that it was ok to apologize and to be sad, but he had never succeeded at making him stop boasting to hide the kindness that he showed from time to time. Even when Ibara and Ryû were alone, most of the time Ryû had to say something stupid after going against one of his father's teachings. Ibara didn't have the authority or the charisma to do it, but Sasuke-sensei did. Just now he had succeeded in stopping Ryû's self-defense shield.

Noticing Ibara's attention centred on him, Sasuke faced him, lifting an eyebrow. Ibara glanced toward Ryû and smiled knowingly, giving a curt nod. Sasuke shrugged and went back to cooking smirking slightly.

Naruto scratched his head. Was he seeing things or Ibara and Sasuke had just made a tacit agreement? He sure had one hell of a team… they had succeed in seducing ice-cube Sasuke! He would have to see if indeed Ibara and Sasuke would work together to change Ryû, but this silent communication between them was the first acknowledgement Sasuke had ever given to Ibara. Well, he would follow their lead and keep doing all he could to help Ryû change; he had already joined Ibara in his constant praising of everything good Ryû did.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dinner had been perfect, even if Sasuke had ended up putting on a yukata because Ryû couldn't stop gaping at him (or was it because Naruto was drooling?). Naruto was more than happy as he patted his full stomach and rose to accompany his team to the door. Sasuke trailed behind him, Gouz in his arms because Silk was carrying some leftovers; Naruto wanted her to take them since she lived alone. When he was young, he had always wished for a nice granny or neighbour to give him cakes and leftovers but being the Kyuubi vessel, he had never had the chance.

Grinning he pinched Sasuke's ass and winked at him suggestively, soon there would be no kids in the house. He screamed as Sasuke dropped Gouz right on him, the cat hissing and landing all claws out. Naruto making things worse by trying to catch it, soon he was littered by scratches.

"You bastard," he grumbled finally calming the angry Gouz.

"Naruto-sensei, Sasuke-sensei," said Ibara and Ryû, ready to leave. Silk had just finished packing the leftovers in her bag, she reached for her shoes but a hand closing on her shoulder stilled her.

"I want to talk to you," stated Sasuke. Silk nodded and took Gouz in her arms, fidgeting a little. He knew what he wanted; Naruto-sensei had warned her.

"Because she's a Rain?" asked Ryû, looking suspiciously at Silk.

"Because of Itachi," retorted Sasuke, turning his back on him, aiming for the lounge. This kid really got on his nerves. He was supposed to be in love with the girl, yet the knowledge that his father didn't trust her because she hadn't been born in Konoha was enough to make him reject her.

Ibara snorted at Ryû and left, not waiting for him, just to make clear he hated his friend's behaviour. Ryû dashed after him. Why was he the only one disturbed by Silk's newfound identity? His father, an Anbu captain, had made it clear you couldn't trust her.

Naruto sighed, he had tried make Ryû see reason but… well it would come with time. He grinned at Silk, waving at her to forget about Ryû and pointed at the lounge, where Sasuke was undoubtedly waiting for her. He would wait in the bedroom; he had no place in this conversation. Striping to his boxers he dropped on the bed, burying his nose in Sasuke's scent.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke sat on an armchair, elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hands. His gaze was glued to the entrance. He wanted to know. He had to know everything that linked Silk and Itachi. He had already decided that he would take care of the girl in memory of Itachi… but was it worth it? Wasn't he just creating another weak point? He knew Silk had already wormed herself into his heart; he hated the effortlessness with which she had accomplished it.

He closed his eyes, remembering what started it all. She was Naruto's student, which gave her an advantage. She hadn't been scared by him, she had understood his respect for the dead, she had been the first to talk about Itachi, she… loved Itachi. During training she had proved she was intelligent and hard working, a fine ninja and she had this link with Itachi. He had saved her life. He smirked, in fact it was once again all Itachi's fault.

Soft footsteps made him open his eyes, looking straight at Silk in the door frame; he followed her movements as she sat in front of him on the couch. She settled Gouz on her thighs and began stroking her restlessly.

"How old were you?" he asked, not bothering to remind her of the subject; she already knew.

"I was three."

Sasuke twitched a little. She was too young to remember really what had happened, but old enough to have memories. If she had been three, Sasuke had been seven, meaning it was when Itachi had just become Anbu.

"You remember?" he wondered, trying to make her understand he wanted the whole story and its source if it wasn't from her mind.

"Not… not really… I have some pieces," she gulped at the intensity of her teacher's attention, she felt so ill at ease. This was important for him, she knew it. She knew the Uchihas' story. She knew he had killed Itachi and was still suffering about it. She had to tell him. She had to try and be as accurate as possible. She felt close to the man, closer than to Naruto-sensei, there was something, a feeling between them.

"I always knew I wasn't from Konoha, since I have my parents' forehead protectors with the Rain symbol on them. When I met Kakashi-sensei while I was looking for Gouz, I knew I had seen him somewhere before. I recognized him or the feeling he gave me, I don't know. I didn't know his name so I asked all the people I knew, giving his description. An old man who was always feeding the birds knew him and he's the one who told me his name and my story."

Silk eyed Sasuke; he hadn't moved an inch, listening to her. He nodded, pressing her silently to go on.

"My parents were Rain ninjas but the village wanted to kill them because they had been in favor of an alliance with Konoha. They believed they were traitors," Silk paused a little before adding louder, "that's why I'm not a spy. They wanted an alliance, they were with Konoha."

Sasuke mentally snorted. She seemed to care about Ryû's opinion; it hurt her that he didn't trust her anymore. She desperately needed acknowledgement; she was the kind of people that wanted to go along with everyone maybe because she had lived alone for so long. She didn't trust herself for anything else other than battle. She knew her strength since it was tangible but for the rest she was only a timid girl scared of saying what she thought, scared of being left behind.

Silk seeing the lack of reaction of her… could she call him interlocutor when he wasn't saying a single word? She shook her head to push again those thoughts, he was waiting.

"They were fleeing from the Rain country with me, heading to Konoha for protection. I remember the fear, my parent's fear. We were running in a forest, a dark forest. I didn't understand what was happening I just knew I had to keep quiet, because it was dangerous."

She closed her eyes, trying to block out the memories. Her parents' smell mixed with fear, the unnatural silence of the forest, the uneven beating of her mother's heart she could hear since she was pressed against her chest. She had so few memories of her family, and the most precise one had to be of their deaths.

A soft hand on hers startled her; she hadn't realized she had stopped talking. Maybe he was angry, she had disappointed him! Worried she opened her eyes, ready to face her angry teacher. Only soft dark eyes met hers, was it her or understanding reflected in their depths? She blinked; he had already gone back to his armchair, as if he had never knelt before her and touched her hand.

"The old man told me Uchiha Itachi, Konoha's finest ninja, and Hatake Kakashi, also a genius, both Anbu had tried to save them but only succeeded in saving me. They brought me back to Konoha and I stayed here. After that he told me all he knew about Itachi-sama and Kakashi-sensei's stories and…"

"Was it a mission?" interrupted Sasuke.

"Excuse me?" wondered Silk, taken aback.

"Where they asked to go save your parents?" elaborated Sasuke, still perfectly immobile.

Silk pondered the question. What had the old man said? What did she remember about it? "N-No. They bumped into them by chance; they were coming back from an Anbu mission."

So it hadn't been a mission. Itachi had saved her from his own will. Maybe it was because he had been with Kakashi, maybe it was only a part of his mask. Yet he had saved her life. That was all that really mattered.

Silk was fidgeting more and more, troubled by her nervousness Gouz had left her knees. As expected those memories were still hard for the girl. Sasuke stood up, coming to sit on the low table in front of her; she had to talk about this. Because Sasuke wanted, _needed_ to know everything, and because he had the feeling that she had never had the chance to talk about it before. And he knew the feeling far too well.

"Tell me," he coaxed softly.

Silk nodded, looking at her hands resting on her thighs. "I remember hearing people behind us. I think father began to panic, he knew they made sounds only to scare them, to make them know that they were catching up and stress them so that they would make mistakes but… it still worked. Then mother screamed. She had just collided with someone. And I remember perfectly two red eyes with spinning comas. I believe mother recognised them, because she murmured a name, I suppose it was Uchiha. Then another man, his face masked, talked in hurried whispers with my father, Kakashi-sensei, I presume."

Sasuke noticed her voice wavering a little. "Father motioned them to hide or take them from behind, I don't know. Then he grabbed mother and we started to run once again. It's very blurry in my memory but we were caught by masked shinobis… I… I see blood, father is vomiting blood, he's crying and there is a loud crack and he's not moving. He's on the ground. It's so dark yet there's an even darker thing coming out of his body."

Silk had begun to shake, tears spilling on her cheeks, but she went on, hands still resting on her thighs, even if her fingers had closed a little.

"Mother pressed me harder against her and fought, I remember movement and curses coming from behind. Itachi-sama was killing our pursuers, then mother fell and something warm and sticky poured on me. I remember seeing my father's open eyes, blank unseeing eyes. Mother whispered to me, cradling me in her arms. A kunai was going to pierce her but the man never had the chance to finish his movement, he was dead and red eyes where looking at me. Then I was snatched and I remember Kakashi-sensei's scent, his voice soothing me and rain enveloping me. It was replaced by another scent intimately mixed with the scent of blood, another embrace less warm but sure, Itachi-sama's arms. Itachi-sama's voice saying my parents were dead that Kakashi-sensei shouldn't even try, Kakashi saying mother had just passed away…" Silk sniffed and whispered, "Itachi-sama smelled like you."

Silk began choking on her tears and blinked suddenly, noticing where she was. She didn't remember but she had stood up and fallen in Sasuke's arms, she had her head nuzzled in his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist. He hadn't moved but had let her hug him. She leaned a little more on him, enjoying his warmth, the closeness to another being.

"It began raining when father died; it rained until we arrived in Konoha. I love rain, it washes everything it's… it's my parent's love. When it's raining it's as if they are holding me," she murmured.

"When I missed them, I used to hug their pillow, just to have my parent's smell with me," offered Sasuke, giving her confidence for confidence. Silk rose and wiped her tears, blushing a little; she dusted her clothes, tidying them to gather back some countenance. She couldn't believe how daring she had been. What was he thinking of her now? But… he had told her something about himself. She peered from under her eyelids and felt relieved, he looked normal, he wasn't even scary anymore.

"And when you missed Itachi-sama?" she asked very low.

"I trained and hated myself for still loving him when I was supposed to hate him," he answered even lower, standing up and heading for the front door.

Silk ran after him and feeling very daring tonight grabbed his yukata. Smiling as she wasn't told to let go.

Sasuke grabbed Gouz and put her on his shoulder, leaving the room. He groaned inwardly, he had been... kind with her and had let her use him as a tissue only because she had told him what he wanted. Not because he was relating to her since she had also seen her parents die right in front of her eyes. He wasn't warming up even more to her, not at all. He felt a hand grip his yukata and he gritted his teeth seeing Silk's bowed head trotting next to him. He hesitated and saw a timid smile light her features at not being pushed away. He promised himself that it was only for tonight, because it had been hard for her to remember all this for his take.

Who was he kidding with this bullshit? He was doomed. He had to face it. He had gotten attached to the clinging-to-my-katana-and-now-the-yukata-of-my-teacher-who-is-supposed-to-be-an-unfeeling-bastard-but-can't-bring-himself-to-ditch-her girl. Damn it.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(1) Noisette means hazelnut, Réglisse means licorice, Plume means feather. The names are in French, those are the names of a friend's cats (unfortunately I don't have any…)

Guys (maybe I should say "girls" lol) do you want a lemon for the next chapter? A lime is planned, but if you want a lemon, I don't mind

Please review!

By the way I just wrote a SuigetsuSasuke story called "Tupperware meets Piranha".

Next chapter: Simply Life

-Message-

Dear **Cfox**: Thanks for your review on "Tupperware meets Piranha", I will try to write something on Juugo, but I'm waiting for a bit more informations on him. Thanks for your support!

Dear **Necrophile**: I answered to your last PM then e-mailed you... but didn't received any answer... I hope everything is ok, don't hesitate to contact me.

Dear **MeEksiN: **I haven't heard of you for sometime now... did I bored you with the story? (yeah I know I'm a little strange, but you were always reviewing and so... I'm a little worried)


	7. Simply Life

**Chapter ****7: Simply Life**

Big thanks for my awesome Beta who still bears with me and my many mistakes!  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers! I'm deeply touched; you really keep me going.  
Everyone who answered to my question about the lemon or lime, asked for a lemon (or didn't care lol) so, **warning**: **lemon ahead. **

Since I noticed it's a little hard to follow the **time flow** in my **story**, I decided to put up a **calendar** to help along. I will give a link to the calendar at the end of each chapter and it will be updated every chapter.

Dear **Hakudoushi kawaii ne:** don't apologize for long reviews, especially since yours was so nice and touching (blush). It made me squeal and glow. My family must think I've totally lost it lol (in fact they must think that every time I receive a review chuckles)

Dear **cfox**: there's a comment for you at the end of the chapter.

Dear **taloose**: when I received your comment, I had already finished this chapter (but my beta was on holiday, that's why it's out only now). I did add things and changed it a little to answer your question about the NaruSasu relationship. There's a comment for you at the end of this chapter.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke closed the door behind Silk and sighed. Heading for his bedroom he stopped as a cat nearly made him trip, trying to scratch his pants. Itachi. Sasuke bent in front of the kitten he had named after his brother and scowled at him, earning an innocent meow and a good rubbing.

"What would you think, Itachi?" muttered Sasuke, scratching the now purring cat. "I think it's better not to know," he concluded, standing up and trying to make the Itachi-cat stop attempting to rip his pants for fun and make him trip.

As he entered his room he smirked mischievously at Naruto's sleeping form. The blond was snoring (loud as usual) and sleeping on his back, taking up the whole bed. Sasuke's eye twitched, Naruto was wearing his boxers! He was so going to make him pay for that, for bringing kids so Sasuke would cook and more importantly for making him a loving fool.

Sasuke let the yukata slide from his shoulders, falling in a heap on the floor soon joined by his pants and boxers. Totally naked he crept on the bed and knelt above Naruto, hands at each side of his head. Naruto was built solid and muscular, yet not too developed, he had broad shoulders while Sasuke was lithe and thin having defined but subtle muscles. He wondered if Naruto wasn't a little taller than him now, not visibly but… He was unmarked and tanned contrasting sharply with Sasuke's porcelain skin.

"Naruto," he breathed in his lover's ear. Receiving no answer his smirk widened as he straightened up a little and tugged playfully at Naruto's boxers, technically his. The blond groaned and wriggled a little, Sasuke taking the opportunity to lower the boxers and proceed to take them off.

"What the hell are you doing?" muttered Naruto, shifting a little but not opening his eyes. He frowned as he heard something fall on the floor. Funny he felt cold… his eyes flew open as one of Sasuke's hands solved the problem, covering him.

"Waking you up by molesting you," answered Sasuke in his ear before kissing him, exploring his mouth.

"Hmm I love this waking technique of yours," praised Naruto, gripping Sasuke's ass and lowering him, flushing their bodies. Sasuke's hands came to play with his nipples and Naruto moaned, grinding against Sasuke, attacking his neck. Damn he was already rock hard and only wanted to press Sasuke on the mattress or the wall and bury himself in his heat until he made him scream, which could take hours he reminded himself, grinning.

He reached for his lover, ready to switch positions and claim him when suddenly he felt very cold. Sasuke was already standing next to the bed where Naruto couldn't grab him.

"Sasuke?" he asked puzzled. Oh. He didn't love this smirk, not at all. He wouldn't…? Naruto jumped up and tried to capture his fleeing lover but missed and found the bathroom door between him and his prey.

"You asshole! Bastard! Ice-cube!" screamed Naruto, banging on the door, shaking the handle angrily to try and open the door. "Come back here you manipulative bastard!" he said, supporting himself with one foot on the door frame and pulling with all his strength. The door wouldn't budge.

"Hmm water caressing my body is _so_ good, too bad you're not here," moaned, yes _moaned,_ the Bastard.

"I'm so going to kill you!" threatened Naruto, kicking the door and cursing as he hurt his toes. He pondered using Rasengan to open the door when he heard Sasuke snickering under the shower.

-Warning: Lemon-

One hour later, yes one bloody hour later! Sasuke turned off the shower. Ah, Naruto was sure now he was perfectly clean, he even wondered if he had any skin left. Or maybe he had shampooed hair by hair? And Naruto was still aroused because Sasuke had made sure to make some suggestive sounds and comments every now and then. The bastard.

But Naruto was going to have his revenge; he was waiting at the door ready to jump on the bastard the moment he left the bathroom. And nothing, _nothing_, not even a soap bar in his mouth would prevent Naruto from catching him and making him pay.

"What did the door do to you, dobe?" asked a voice from behind him. Naruto turned and yelped pointing at the smirking Sasuke on the bed.

"How!" he shrieked jumping on him to end up flat on his stomach on the bed. He cursed as he heard the door open and close, a snort greeting him as he began to bang his fists on the mattress.

"So dear wanna-be-Hokage, still falling for a good old illusion?" taunted Sasuke.

Naruto rolled on his back, defeated and sulked, arms crossed over his chest, pouting and refusing to look at Sasuke. The latter climbed on the bed and straddled him, legs spread leaving nothing to the imagination. His hands were resting on Naruto's chest, just above his crossed arms, the thumbs stroking lazily the hard nipples.

"Having trouble concentrating on your sulking?" teased Sasuke, lowering to lick his nose. Naruto grabbed him by the nape and kissed him roughly, his other hand grabbing for Sasuke's private place, earning a throaty growl and an uncontrolled jerk of his lover's hips.

The raven sat straight again, locking eyes with him and Naruto felt his breath catch. It was incredible how entrancing Sasuke could be, how he could make Naruto understand what he wanted without speaking. Naruto stopped stroking him and let his hands roam up the hips, the waist, the toned chest, everywhere he could reach.

Sasuke lowered a little, pressing his hands at each side of Naruto's head, grounding their pelvises, giving Naruto access to more parts of his body.

"Naruto," he whispered huskily.

Naruto proceeded to reverse positions, intending to flatten Sasuke on his back and ravish him, but Sasuke resisted him. He pushed his shoulders, taking support on them, forcing him to stay on his back. Sasuke straightened up and sat on him, hips rolling so his bottom pressed rhythmically against Naruto's length. Naruto moaned deeply, gripping Sasuke's waist for dear life.

"Ahnn Sasuke," and the bastard was smirking, toying with him, teasing but not giving him what he really wanted. He was so beautiful like that, hairs sticking to his face because of the heat, half lidded eyes, red lips parted as he kept his breathing in check, all dominance yet submissive. And Naruto still couldn't believe he was his.

Keeping eye contact with the dark haired beauty he began to grope around on the nightstand to find the lube. He was shaking so much he nearly dropped it, making Sasuke snort and give a harder push against him, which didn't help at all but just pissed him off. Naruto presented him the lube but Sasuke shook his head, still on him.

"Do it."

"As you wish, bastard," he answered grinning as Sasuke leaned on him, nuzzling his head in the pillow next to his head.

Naruto pushed a coated finger in Sasuke's entrance, feeling him relax his muscles. Naruto breathed deeply Sasuke's scent and grinned before starting to lick his lover's neck, nibbling from time to time. That earned him something that nearly made him lose it; Sasuke turned his head and pressed his lips to Naruto's ear. He didn't lick, he didn't nibble, he just let him hear each of his breaths, each stifled gasp and moan. As he pushed the third finger in, Naruto was almost mad with desire.

"Stop," he groaned, he had never thought he would ask Sasuke to be silent, but… "if you keep doing that I'm going to…"

Sasuke moaned a little louder making sure his breath tickled Naruto's ear.

"Bastard," growled Naruto, taking off his fingers to take care of himself.

"Dobe," murmured Sasuke, kissing his ear before adding huskily and rolling all the syllables, "_Naruto._"

And that was it. He hadn't finished but he just couldn't wait. He grabbed Sasuke by the waist, lifted him and lowered him on himself, in one smooth movement closing his eyes as he was engulfed in an agonizingly tight heat.

"In a hurry, aren't you?" mocked Sasuke, nudging him.

"Your fault," muttered Naruto, opening his eyes. It seemed Sasuke wanted them to keep eye contact. Naruto breathed in deeply, trying to calm down a little. Blue still plunged in dark ones. Slowly he lifted a hand, caressing Sasuke's cheek. His lover was resting against Naruto's other hand; it was the only thing holding him up, his arms slack at his sides. He had let himself been moved docilely and it was driving Naruto crazy, to have him submit like that.

"Sasuke, my Sasuke," he murmured and gently grabbed Sasuke's waist and hips and lifted him, pulling him down once again. Sasuke let him do as he wanted not resisting as Naruto increased the rhythm, unable to help himself. But Sasuke's eyes bored in his, chaining him, making him want to take all of him, to make him scream. He would beg to know Sasuke enjoyed it.

Sasuke smirked and simply rested his hands on Naruto's and tilted his head back, breaking eye contact, freeing Naruto. His lover immediately thrust faster, his hold hardening as he neared his climax. Sasuke finally allowed gasps to escape him and closed his eyes as he stifled his cry of ecstasy. He felt Naruto release deep inside him screaming his name, his hands sliding on his side in a last caress and making sure he didn't fall.

"Was it worth waiting?" jeered Sasuke as he laid against him, Naruto stroking his sides lovingly.

"Bastard."

Sasuke snickered before trailing a hand on Naruto's chest, leaning more on him. Naruto wrapped his arm tighter and buried his nose in Sasuke's hair.

"I love you," he said, still stroking his lover.

"Hn," replied Sasuke, closing his eyes and drifting to sleep.

Naruto closed his eyes tightly and hardened his hold on the raven, needing to feel him pressed against him. Why? Why didn't he say it? Didn't he love him? Naruto sighed; no, he had all the signs to know that wasn't true. So why didn't he say it? It hurt…

-End Warning-

Naruto awoke alone, well not really, he woke up with seven cats mewling, purring in his ear or rubbing, patting with their claws on his soft skin. Great. Yawning he pushed the horde out of the bed and dragged himself to the kitchen, cats trailing behind him, passing between his legs, screaming, visibly hungry.

"Sasuke?" he called, the bastard could have fed his cats since he was up already for God's sake!

When he reached the kitchen nobody was there but Itachi sitting placidly on the table, a paper between its paws. He gave a meaningful look to Naruto and tried to bite him as the blond snatched the paper. One word was written on it, "Hokage."

"No, no I won't worry that you're not there when I wake up. Yeah have a nice day too," muttered Naruto.

The bastard could have elaborated a little, couldn't he? Especially since seeing the Hokage meant that he had a mission… he might not get to see Sasuke today at all. Crumpling the paper in a ball Naruto threw it on Itachi, who caught it between its teeth and jumped off the table, proud and victorious.

"Even his cat is a bastard," growled Naruto before being reminded that seven cats were waiting to be fed. Damn they were loud and insistent. Would it be like that every morning? He had suggested _a_ pet not a _horde_ of pets! Fortunately he had forbid the snakes!

After feeding the cats Naruto sat before his beloved ramen and started eating. Fifi, a mewling machine, jumped on the table and stared, soon rejoined by Cheyenne who looked pretty clever and sly.

"What?" asked Naruto between mouthfuls.

"Meow?" requested Fifi, sniffing and eyeing the Ramen. Naruto's eyes widened and he gave a fast look to check that they still had food and they did.

"No way. This is not for cats. This is _my_ food," he retorted, bringing his bowl closer. He had a bad feeling.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sakura made sure Sasuke was with the Hokage before going to talk to Naruto. She was worried; Sasuke had hurt himself and then adopted all the stray cats he could attract with shrimp.

As she reached the house she heard a loud "noooooooo" and hurried, heart beating fast, what had happened? If she hadn't seen Sasuke a few minutes ago, she would have sworn Naruto had found his dead body. Slamming at the door, calling out Naruto's name she almost broke it down when the door finally opened, revealing Naruto in his boxers, sauce dripping from him. He held two cats by their napes, said cats looking perfectly contented, some ramen sticking out from their mouths.

"They attacked me to steal my ramen!" whined Naruto.

Sakura blinked and began to laugh, making her way into the house, chuckling all the way as she heard Naruto scold the cats. While Naruto put on some clothes, she sat at the table looking at the cats still eating; she could count seven including the ones Naruto was carrying.

"Would you like something, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto, sitting next to her and cleaning up the mess he had made while fighting the cats.

"So he adopted seven…" said Sakura pensively.

"Yeah, he also kept Silk's cat for a while… wait no," Naruto gave a fast look around and shook his head. "Not seven, eight, Itachi's not here."

Sakura gave him an intent look, Naruto shrugged, "yeah he named one Itachi, but you know? It really reminds me of him, its looks and the way it acts. It's the only kitten, and it seems Sasuke found him in Itachi's room."

"But that's sick, Naruto!" snapped Sakura exasperated.

"If he needs it," replied Naruto, shrugging once again.

Sakura slammed her fist on the table, rising. "You don't understand! I saw him, he hurt himself! His arms and hands were full of cuts and bleeding and all that mattered to him was to coax cats with shrimp! And he learned my healing jutsu with his Sharingan! We won't know if he does it again! He's sick! He needs help!"

Naruto frowned; he could trust Sakura's judgment. If she said Sasuke had hurt himself then it must be true. Yet… maybe the cats were his way to take care of the problem, to prevent him from doing it again. That would explain why he had adopted so many. It proved that he was disturbed, but also that he was sane enough to know it was a problem and that he had to find a solution. That was the key; he was trying to heal himself. Leaning on his chair, he frowned a little. Sasuke had needed cats to help him while he was alone which meant that while Naruto was here he would be ok. Yet… it also mean that Naruto wasn't enough… because the knowledge that he was coming back didn't stop Sasuke. Like Sakura had said Sasuke needed help… and just as she unconsciously or not implied, he wasn't enough.

"I'm taking care of him," he finally answered. "Thank you for warning me… I will talk to him."

He would just ask because he was certain that Sasuke had settled the problem with the cats. What hurt was that Sasuke had needed the cats when he already had him and that he had never once said he loved Naruto.

Sakura gave him a small smile. "If you need help, I'll always be here."

Naruto grinned and stood up, ready to accompany her to the door but she didn't move.

"Maybe he should see a specialist…" she murmured.

The blond sat back, leaning his head on his hands. "Don't worry, I will be enough," because he had to, for Sasuke's sake and for himself.

Sakura bit her lips a little and averted her eyes, "I'm not so sure."

Naruto gritted his teeth, he had to stay calm. This was Sakura speaking. Calm.

Still not looking at him, Sakura began to talk, "you didn't think calling a cat Itachi was sick."

Well maybe but calling a cat after a loved one wasn't that strange, especially if the cat wore the name so perfectly.

"You didn't notice he wasn't doing well," she pursued.

Because there weren't any traces on his body and because the cats had settled the problem, plus Sasuke was ok when Naruto was here. Breathing deeply he tried to stop clenching his hands. Sakura was deeply hurt, that's why she was acting like that. He had to let her take out all the poison that was eating her. But if she pushed as far as last time… he would… loose it. He was a nice guy, he loved Sakura, but too much would be too much. Her comments, even if partly true, hit too close to home for Naruto. They hurt.

"I… I mean… why does he always have to complicate things?" Aha. There, Sakura was finally saying what she really thought. "Why choose a man? It would have been so much simpler to just choose me…"

She began to cry, looking at Naruto. "I love him…" she whispered.

And that was why he forgave her. Only for this small reason. Because he could imagine what she was going through.

"I know… I love him too," he replied, standing and taking her in his arms, rocking her gently. She buried herself in his chest and he heard her muffled words. "Make him happy… make him get well… you're the only one who can… I hate you for that… and I hate myself for not accepting his choice."

"You just need time," answered Naruto gently patting her.

After a while she calmed down and left, they said goodbye quite awkwardly. As he made his way back to the kitchen, Naruto pondered about all he knew. He would be enough for Sasuke, even if he had to fight tooth and nails. He knew it wasn't really sane for Sasuke to have named one of his cats Itachi, but his obsession with the man was a part of him. And sometimes doing something that might seem crazy was a way of stopping oneself from doing something worse. As long as he didn't hurt himself or others, if calling a cat Itachi made him feel better, then it wasn't so bad.

Entering the room he blinked and began to laugh. Itachi had just done its business on the chair Sakura had been seating on. Seeing Naruto he jumped on the floor and eyed him suspiciously.

"Well, she did say your name was sick, that your master his sick and that I wouldn't be enough… but, don't you think you're exaggerating a little?"

Itachi raised its head high and left the room proudly, under Naruto's very amused gaze that is until he remembered that he was the one who had to clean it up.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Naruto went back home after training his team, Sasuke was waiting for him in the lounge, sharpening his equipment. That reminded him of his earlier discussion with Sakura and he took a seat in front of his lover. Before he could say anything Sasuke spoke, "The Hokage assigned me to a long term mission."

Naruto clenched his fists. That meant being separated for a long time. His throat went dry.

"How long?" he inquired sternly.

"It depends. It can be one week, one month, one year, or even more, maybe less," stated Sasuke a smirk beginning to grace his lips as Naruto flopped down on his seat, hiding his face in his hands.

"I hate the old hag… I really do," grumbled Naruto.

He heard Sasuke put down his equipment and come toward him, lips brushing his ear.

"Really? I thought you would be happy."

Naruto peered between his fingers at his lover. The hell?

"I'm assigned to your protection from the Akatsuki."

Naruto punched him playfully on the shoulder, "Bastard, why didn't you say that sooner?"

"Because you didn't ask?" he answered smugly retreating.

The blond caught him and Sasuke slid on his lap, making himself comfortable, resting his arms on Naruto's shoulder as Naruto closed one arm around his waist. Sasuke found it strange that Naruto didn't try to take advantage of the situation to coax him into other activities. He shivered as Naruto let his fingers trail on one of his arms, finally grabbing his hand and kissing his palm. Blue irises looked at him, worry clearly showing, as the fingers went back to caressing his arm. Oh.

"You saw Sakura," he concluded. Naruto nodded, asking him silently what had happened.

"I'm fine," assured Sasuke, his tone leaving no place for discussion.

"The cats served their purpose then," said Naruto giving a cocky smile as Sasuke scowled at being read so easily. "I'm here if you want to talk," added Naruto.

"Hn," replied Sasuke, leaning on him and kissing his jaw.

"I love you," moaned Naruto, snaking his hands inside Sasuke's yukata.

"Hn," was his answer and Naruto stilled, gently pushing Sasuke away from him to look him in the eye. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"I love you," he repeated firm and loud.

"Hn," answered Sasuke, leaning to kiss him, but Naruto grabbed his shoulders.

"What?" snapped Sasuke, standing up forcefully, sliding a hand in his hair in irritation as he flopped down on the couch to face him.

"Why don't you ever say it? Am I not enough?" asked Naruto dryly.

"Those are just words! Don't start whining, Naruto," growled Sasuke exasperated.

"If it's just words just say them! You know I need to hear them! And I'm not whining! You need cats to keep you sane for God's sake! I'm not enough for you to keep on living!" screamed Naruto, bolting to his feet, pacing the room angrily.

Sasuke put his head in his hands, growling. Couldn't Naruto understand that he had needed the cats because the blond wasn't here? Because he missed him. Damn, he wasn't good with words!

"I say it every time we make love," he supplied.

Naruto stilled facing Sasuke, startled. "Pardon?"

Sasuke sighed and crossed his arms on his chest, his face a blank mask.

"Is giving you my body not enough of a love declaration?" he asked sarcastically. Naruto opened his mouth but Sasuke raised a hand to make him shut up.

"Lots of people say they love me. They're just meaningless words. Itachi told them to me, I used to say them too, but he betrayed me. I do not give anything to others, I take what I need. If I had no feelings for you, if it was just sex, I would take you not give myself to you. Like you took all those whores," Naruto flinched, "to give myself to you is… the ultimate proof of my trust. I let go, I lower my guard, I… submit."

Yes. He submitted to his feelings, he was always so in control, always strong, and there, he let Naruto guide him. Sasuke stood up, leaving the room as Naruto fumbled for words. He stopped just before disappearing in the corridor, his back facing him, a hand gripping the door frame, knuckles white.

"I will never say the words you want. That's the way I am, bear with it. Nor will I ever repeat this again," he said warningly.

Naruto dropped on the couch, slamming his head rhythmically on the armrest. He felt deeply touched by this confession but horribly guilty to have extorted it. He should have trusted his feeling, he knew Sasuke loved him… and he had still wanted more. He seriously needed a Sasuke-decoder.

Naruto was brooding in their bedroom. He hadn't eaten, he just fed the cats, tried unsuccessfully to tame Itachi and went to bed unable to sleep. Sasuke was out. He kept wondering what his dark lover was doing. What was going to happen now? Was he angry that he had had to make a confession… was it really so wrong of Naruto to ask for reassurance?

He felt the bed shift under Sasuke's weight and his heartbeat sped up. He blinked as a tray was put down on his knees, on it was a bowl of Ramen. But not just any kind of ramen…

"Ichiraku's?" he asked.

"Hn."

"You went to Ichiraku to buy me ramen?" he asked again, dumbfounded. Sasuke nodded, giving him chopsticks.

"Are you saying 'sorry'?" wondered Naruto, carefully looking at his friend.

Sasuke sighed and put his hand on the blonde's one, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah. I'm not good with words… I… I am sorry Naruto," the latter's mouth dropped to the floor, and was he hallucinating or Sasuke was slightly blushing?

"I had a lot on my mind, the Akatsuki, Silk and her link to Itachi, Itachi who still haunts my mind… I realize I might have… let you down a little," stated Sasuke, his fingers holding Naruto's tightly.

"Oh my God, you're sick!" screamed Naruto, putting his free hand on Sasuke's forehead, who looked at him as if he was on the verge of strangling him but didn't remove his hand.

"I'm sorry," said Naruto, grinning like an idiot.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"For making you say this. And no, you didn't let me down, you came to join my mission when you didn't have to, you let me sit on your lap when chatting with you, you're taking care of my team, you dropped your task to warn me about the Akatsuki, you're sharing your worries about Itachi and Silk with me, you chose me over your clan, you asked me to come live with you…" reassured Naruto, he knew Sasuke was a little distressed to have felt the need to apologize.

"But I never say the words you want, I'm not very… demonstrative. I…" replied Sasuke, caressing Naruto's fingers.

The blond shook his head. There was so much more, their banter, the way Sasuke didn't get angry when Naruto had broken things in his house, the fact that he trusted him with his nightmares… Sasuke's love was subtle, too subtle sometimes.

"You are the way you've always been, a bastard (Sasuke smirked) and me a moron for not reading you correctly," added Naruto, smiling softly.

"In the Sound, after our meeting in the clearing, I didn't let anyone touch me… because I was afraid I would loose your scent, your warmth." Naruto blushed at this confession and stilled as Sasuke finally looked him in the eyes.

"I wanted you to know, I snapped when you were gone on your four day mission, and I took in cats to help me. But, it's not because you are not enough."

Naruto cut him off, feeling a little guilty, "Yeah… Sakura came and she… er never mind," he trailed, seeing as Sasuke's eyes had narrowed dangerously.

"She said that you weren't enough?" he asked dryly.

"No, no, she just… sort of implied it and since I was already feeling this way. Calm down, she was just worried, it's nothing really. Don't go berserk on her," hurried the blond.

"Naruto, you can't always protect her! She's hurting you! And she's clever enough to know it," he growled.

"Please, Sasuke. Let her digest the news," he pleaded, using his saddest face to make Sasuke cave in.

"Fine. Whatever. Keep in mind you are enough. It's just… when you're not here, I… well, I felt as if I didn't have a purpose in life," Naruto hung his head, "but now I understand. You are my link to this world, you are my purpose," whispered Sasuke, onyx eyes locked with stormy blue ones.

"Sasuke," gasped Naruto. The raven entangled their fingers.

"Is it enough? Since I can't say the words you wish… is it enough if I answer 'you are my link'?" inquired Sasuke.

Naruto took back his hand, caught the tray and put it on the nightstand. He looked at the expecting Sasuke and simply hugged him. He knew it had been hard on Sasuke to say so much. He was so happy; to think that Sasuke, out of fear of losing him, would go out of his way to reassure him.

"Make-up sex?" was whispered in his ear and he grinned, turning and pinning Sasuke to the mattress, devouring his mouth. That had been their first real fight as a couple.

"Do you want to top?" proposed Naruto slightly nervous. He wanted to prove to Sasuke that he loved him and didn't say 'I love you' like one would say 'I fed the cats.'

"No. You running after me for years is proof enough," Naruto blushed a little in shame at being the only one to need reassurance, and also because he was flattered.

"Dobe, reading isn't natural," reassured Sasuke before kissing him. Naruto smiled into the kiss. Yeah, he would learn Sasuke-language bit by bit, at least Sasuke admitted it wasn't easy. Finally they just cuddled, listening to each other's heartbeat, the ramen forgotten on the night stand.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

To say Naruto had tried to throttle the Hokage was an understatement. The old hag had received a report that Kabuto, the Akatsuki 's new underling, had been spotted in Fire country and so she had restricted Naruto and his team to D and C ranked missions until things calmed down (_even_ if Sasuke was there to keep an eye on him). And so here he was confined in Konoha doing stupid missions within the village while Sasuke was sent in Anbu missions, or if Sasuke was with him they did stupid mission nearby Konoha. Life sucked. Already two months of this had gone by.

But Naruto being Naruto, took advantage of this situation to visit his friends, who already knew about his and Sasuke's relationship (thanks to Sakura telling Ino and Ino being such a gossip).

_"W__hoa fuck! You got Uchiha Sasuke in your bed?" yelled Kiba, grinning and winking at him. _

_"S__o so so tell us, is he good in bed?" asked Ino blushing as she undoubtedly imagined herself in Naruto's place. _

_At this point Naruto was pretty pleased with himself at the fact __that he wasn't chocking on his ramen. And he was glad Lee wasn't there to scream something about youthful love. _

_"A__re you ok? Isn't your… er… aren't you hurting?" asked Choji, concern lacing his voice. _

_Everyone snickered at this and turned to see Naruto's expression. The blond pointed his chopstick__s at them, gulping down a mouthful. _

_"And why do you all think I'm being top__ed?" he asked defiantly. _

_"Well, your penis__ is so small…" mentioned Sai. _

_Naruto bolt__ed up, "That's not true! And for your information _he's_ the one on the bottom!" _

_They all stared at him as Naruto sat back burying his head in his ramen thinking of how Sasuke was going to skin him alive if this reached his ears… _

_"I'm not surprised. He's more sensible that we think, and he needs to let go sometime__s," pointed out Neji. _

_"Is he vocal?__" asked Kiba, snaking an arm around Naruto's shoulder all buddy-buddy. _

_"That is none of your business, dog-boy!"__ replied Naruto._

_"Oh well, we just have to find that for ourselves then. The book I'm reading said it was better to learn by oneself," started Sai, before being interrupted._

_"Don't you dare!" growled Naruto, threateningly, before adding, "and about him being on the bottom, don't tell Sasuke."_

_A look of pity passed Shikamaru's face as he muttered something along the lines of, "Having a relationship is so bothersome." Naruto had to agree with him when a low icy voice made him straighten up on his seat. _

_"Don't tell me what?" _

_Naruto gulped down and looked around him __in panic, looking for help, but all his friends only smiled cockily or looked very sorry for him. Great. Kiba began to laugh his ass off and that gave Naruto his answer. _

_"Akamaru peed on a wall of the Uchiha __complex." _

_"WHAT__?" yelled Kiba, shaking his head and waving his arms to deny the fact as Sasuke's dark eyes settled on him. _

_That was until Sai tried to help. "Naruto __just didn't want you to know that he let it slip that you're bottoming. You know, so you wouldn't feel uneasy…"_

_Shikamaru snickered as Naruto's face decomposed and Neji smirked as Sasuke drilled Naruto with his glare. _

_"Hey, that's why you're always so uptight?" asked Kiba, nudging the silent Shino (who pretended he wasn't there and wasn't listening to such a low conversation). _

_Sasuke turned slowly toward him and lifted an eyebrow, "what? Jealous because you don't get any?" Kiba's mouth hit the floor at this comment. _

_"Sasuke-sensei?" asked a little voice from outside. _

_"Coming, Silk," answered Sasuke before grabbing Naruto's shoulder in a death grip and whispering, "you're so dead." _

_As if nothing had happen__ed and as if Naruto hadn't just slammed his head on the table muttering something about an evil bathroom (his friends wondering how Sasuke had hit the brain by touching only the shoulder) Sasuke left turning with an evil glint in his eyes just before stepping out. _

_"Oh, and Neji, I would keep an eye on my cousin if I were you, a certain dog-lover seems to be after her." _

_He didn't wait to see Neji pin Kiba with his glare, hearing knuckles cracking and a whimper was enough to know that he had hit the target. That night the ghost of the deceased Uchiha could hear Naruto's begging and slamming while Sasuke took his sweet time in the shower, riling up Naruto with well aimed comments, and then Naruto's curses as Sasuke took all his cats with him to bed… even Itachi who gladly clawed at Naruto every time he so much as looked at Sasuke. _

Another advantage was that Sasuke passed a lot of time with Naruto and Team 5. Sasuke had told him Silk's story and he was glad Sasuke had one more reason to live for now. Also, Ibara and Sasuke's silent deal was working quite efficiently. When Ryû did something good or nice, Ibara or Naruto would congratulate him and if he did things conditioned by his father, Sasuke would snap at him, Ibara or Naruto explaining later why he had done so. Slowly but surely Ryû was changing, still being his usual boasting, unnerving self but now helping out and being nice without adding a stupid comment right after (if he did Sasuke snapped at him). Yet, he still didn't put himself in danger, ever, even if his team was in great danger. None of them knew why. Ibara mentioned that he believed it was Ryû's mother's fault but that he didn't really know a thing about it.

At first Silk had been stubborn and kept on not talking to Ryû. She even argued with Ibara once.

_Ibara was bandaging his arm,__ wincing. He had used it a lot for this mission. Silk went over to help him. _

_"Ibara… you should stop using your power every time Ryû asks you to," she whispered, looking concerned because of all his cuts. _

_"It's necessary," replied Ibara, smiling softly at her. _

_"Not always… he's not always right," insisted Silk._

_"Then why do you jump blindly into a fight whenever he asks you to?" wondered Ibara._

_Silk only blushed bright red. She always followed Ryû's orders._

_Naruto__ snickered and murmured to Sasuke, "they look like two people in love with Ryû having a cat-fight."_

_Sasuke growled and glared at poor Ryû making the fire. _

Ryû finally made the decision that he didn't care if Silk was a Rain and started talking to her once again. He even apologized (maybe the fact that Sasuke had been slicing quite angrily and with much innuendo a fish with gold scales, had helped a little). Silk had shook his hand and decided that a truce was in order. Truce that didn't last long… of course, Ryû being his usual self had done something stupid. It wasn't as if Naruto could make him stop being stupid, right? According to Sasuke, he was already far too busy preventing himself from doing stupid things.

_"Come on__, Ibara, it's for a good cause," pleaded Ryû, tugging at Ibara's sleeve. _

_"No."_

_"Please?" asked Ryû, having learned really fast how to use this particular word (forbidden by his father but highly recommended by his teachers) to make Ibara crack. It seemed he was so happy to see Ryû use it that he would grant him anything…and let's not forget how manipulative Ryû was. _

_"No way and don't give me _that_ look," answered Ibara, stubbornly crossing his arms and turning his head to not see the oh-I'm-so-disappointed-and-sad look his friend was giving him. _

_"Ibara come on, for me?" he said batting his eyelashes. _

_"I would rather face __one of my mother's hugs." _

_"It's for Silk's sake, Ibara, for Silk__," pointed out Ryû, shaking a finger under his nose. _

_That was Ryû's last __resort; Ibara wouldn't be able to resist that argument. And indeed, Ibara turned to face him scowling. _

_"And could you please explain__ to me how going into a porno shop will help Silk?" he asked dryly._

_"Well, she destroyed another one of Kakashi-sensei's stupid books. Our mission, what am I saying, our _duty_ is to help her. We don't want Silk to go inside that kind of shop, do we? Shy and pure Silk would be tainted by the horrid images she might see! And so, you and I, as her team mates, as her friends, as human beings, must go and buy the book for her. Our honour wouldn't permit us to…"_

_"Oh shut up and do __the Henge no Jutsu," snapped Ibara while making the seals. _

_Once transformed into adults they took a deep breath and entered the shop. Ibara used his power to melt the children detecting device. Yet once inside and confronted with the disturbing images he froze and nearly turned on his heels. _

_"For Silk, Ibara__," whispered Ryû, catching his friend's arm, a smile plastered on his face. _

_"I will make you pay this, Ryû…__" muttered Ibara. _

_As they hunted down the shelves for Icha Icha __Paradise books, Ibara was slowly turning green, wondering all the while how in God's sake Ryû could keep a straight face. _

_"How dare they put women in such disrespecting and degrading positions__?" hissed Ibara._

_"It's not the moment to __be a gentleman. Find the book," replied Ryû between gritted teeth. _

_Ibara finally pointed at a __book relieved that they had found it. Ryû, however, was staring at something else and grabbed it. _

_"But…" started Ibara._

_"This one is better, must be the sequel or something. He'll like it," answered Ryû, a huge smirk on his face as he dashed to buy it, not letting Ibara see what it was. Why did he have such a bad feeling?_

_Silk thanked them dearly, even going as far as to grant Ryû a kiss on the cheek. Pressing the wrapped book against her, she dashed toward Kakashi-sensei's house. __Breathless, she had arrived to see Sasuke-sensei take his leave (he had taken the habit to go visit Kakashi-sensei almost every other day). _

_"Kakashi-sensei!" she greeted, pushing the package in his hands, smiling timidly. "This is for you, to apologize," she said taking back her breath. _

_Kakashi eyed her and then the present and began to tear the wrapping. He froze. Sasuke, who had been looking, froze too. Silk gulped and started fidgeting. Wasn't he happy to have his book back? Was he angry because he thought that she had had to sneak in the porno-shop to get it?_

_"Icha Icha GAY paradise?" asked Kakashi bewildered, his visible eye curving as he began to laugh, seeing Silk's horrified and decomposed face. _

_"Perfect. I will give it to Gai," snickered Kakashi, reassuring Silk with a smile and leaving her stunned and ashamed. _

_"Let me guess, Ryû's doing?" asked Sasuke greatly amused even if he would die before admitting it. _

_"But… but… Ibara was with him!" _

_"Don't underestimate Ryû's ability to do stupid things," advised Sasuke. _

_Ryû nearly died laughing when he got wind of what had happened. Ibara was apologizing profusely. Seeing as how the silent treatment hadn't worked, Silk decided to drill Ryû with well placed acid comments. _

Once, when Ryû brought that subject up once again during dinner at Ibara's place, Silk eyed the bottle of ultra hot pepper with an evil glint. Looking at Ryû's bowl, she pondered the issue and finally sighed shaking her head. Sasuke had been observing her, smirking as he caught her idea and scowling when she didn't do it. As one would guess, he had sided with Silk in her fight with Ryû. And so, groaning, he grabbed the ultra hot pepper and poured it on Ryu's bowl himself. Silk blinked as she saw him and seemed torn between changing the bowl or not. She didn't change it. Naruto couldn't help but laugh when Ryû lived up to his name (Ryû means dragon).

Sasuke had even taken to training Silk himself while Naruto just looked as they became closer. Their relationship no longer had anything to do with the fact that Itachi had saved her life. Silk's personality had won Sasuke over. The whole thing with Itachi had only served as an excuse for Sasuke to let down his guard around her, guard that had already been breaking before he knew Itachi had saved her. If it had been any other person, Sasuke might not have gotten so attached. Sasuke wasn't really at ease with his newfound weakness but he dealt with it well enough. Silk was completely attached to him, happy to have someone who took care of her, even if it was in a strange way.

Sasuke was also sort of… socializing with Naruto's friends. That is when he wasn't slamming Sai's face on the door after being called "emo ice queen," but who could blame him?

"Oh do you prefer bottoming emo princess then?" added Sai behind the door. Naruto was amazed at Sasuke's self control. He didn't burn Sai to a crisp, not yet anyways.

Sasuke was really making an effort. He would join Naruto and his friends and even let him wrap his arm around his shoulders when he was in a good mood. Kiba and him argued from time to time but he got along quite well with the rest. He was closest to Neji and Shino. Sasuke would always tell on Kiba when he tried to approach Hinata (yes Sasuke was good at holding grudges). And once Sasuke had freed an insect trapped under a glass.

Well if you counted seating next to each other for hours without saying a word to each other as being close. Yet, it wasn't a heavy silence and they would always bring each other's favorite drinks. That was their way of socializing. Sasuke often worked with Shikamaru, Neji, Shino, and Lee in Anbu missions which brought them closer. The others had chosen to remain Jounin or take a Genin team. Since Sasuke sort of took care of Naruto's team, he could also relate to them, which was rather helpful.

There were lots of examples of how Sasuke was warming up to people, or rather not freezing them anymore. Nobody could help but change as their experiences did. You couldn't ask him to be all friendly. Sasuke was Sasuke, and whoever thought love would make him a nice and open guy was deluding himself. Yet Sasuke was nice on his own way and he had his unique way of showing it. The most surprising and worth telling story was how Kiba found out that Sasuke didn't hate him (he would have sworn the contrary, even if Akamaru told him he didn't feel hostility coming from the Uchiha).

_It was raining __outside and the night was well advanced when Akamaru barked and he heard knocking on the door. Kiba went to see who was mad enough to go out in this storm and who the hell dared knock his door at this hour. The last person he had been expecting to see was of course Uchiha Sasuke. Yet, it was he who was standing at his front door holding a small bundle in his hands. _

_"The fuck?__" asked Kiba in way of greeting._

_"He's been vomiting for two days now__," explained Sasuke, pushing the bundle in Kiba's hands. Curious the latter opened the clothes to find a small black cat who hissed at him. _

_Akamaru's bark shook Kiba from his pondering on why Sasuke was standing in his front door with a fucking cat and he motioned him to enter. __His mother, the head of the clan, made her appearance, eyes widening a little at seeing who their late and unplanned guest was. Sasuke bowed._

_"I am sorry to disturb you at this late hour__," apologized Sasuke. _

_Kiba's jaw nearly hit the floor but he had to concentrate on the black cat that was trying to skin his hands. __No doubt it was Sasuke's cat, just as social as him, he mused. _

_"It is an __honor,__ Uchiha-san," said Kiba's mother giving him a towel and motioning him to follow her into the living room where she gave him a tisane. Sasuke had taken back his kitten and was now petting it. _

_"So?" asked Kiba. _

_"I know you raise dogs, but I figured a cat wouldn't be too different," started Sasuke. "Like I said, he's been vomiting for two days now and he's barely eating," explained Sasuke, holding out the hissing and clawing cat. And that's when Kiba noticed how badly Sasuke's arms were scratched; visibly the cat didn't want to come. _

_As the clan head tried to catch it, the cat gave a loud hiss and tried once agai__n to claw. Sasuke suddenly turned it and faced it, eye to eye._

_"Behave__, Itachi," he snapped. The cat lowered its ears and bared its teeth, burying his claws in Sasuke's hands but the latter didn't relent on his hold and didn't even twitch, still staring at it straight in the eyes until Itachi surrendered._

_Placidly yet uncooperatively and haughtily the cat let himself be examined. __Kiba and his mother didn't comment on the name. Finally they concluded Itachi was suffering from a bad case of gastroenteritis. Kiba's mother went to get some pills to cure it. _

_"Itachi, huh?" asked Kiba tentatively, eyeing Sasuke for any signs of an outburst. _

_"__Got a problem, Kiba?" replied Sasuke, holding his gaze. _

_"Nope. Where's Naruto?__" said Kiba shrugging. Maybe calling the cat Itachi was a way to give the man another chance… _

_"Out for a mission with his team. I just got back from an Anbu mission. He left me a note telling me about Itachi and he's vomited three times since my return." _

_"No problem, dude. Funny you didn't take him to a vet," started Kiba but his mother interrupted when she came back with the medicine. Sasuke thanked them and left with his hissing bundle (Sasuke had forced him to gulp a pill and held its mouth close until he was sure Itachi had swallowed)._

_Kiba __watched him from the window. _

_"You do realize what that means, Kiba, don't you?" asked his mother patting his shoulder with pride. _

_And yes, Kiba did realize that Sasuke hadn't __taken his cat to a vet because he didn't trust them, yet he had brought it to him. Damn, he had wanted the Uchiha to say it, just to make fun of him. But that could wait for next time. _

The next day, when Kiba caught Hinata's hand under the table, Sasuke didn't point it out. But when Kiba tried again later, he did.

Naruto and Sasuke's relationship was going rather smoothly, with its share of incomprehension and of course the incessant bantering, teasing, and sparring. They always trained together. Sometimes they got a little carried away and ended up patching each other's wounds. Naruto, knowing Sasuke didn't want anyone in the bathroom with him, had tried to coax him when he was the one inside, to no avail. The thing was that since it was forbidden Naruto wanted it even more… too bad. It was strange because Sasuke had no trouble going to the onsen with him. He also confirmed that Sasuke didn't want to be taken from behind, he would always face him… and when Naruto had insisted he had ended up spending the night with all of Sasuke's cat in the bed and, of course, Itachi smugly sleeping on Sasuke, scathing claws ready to skin him.

Speaking of the cats, Naruto loved them. Most of the time that is, he hated them when they slept with him and Sasuke and because _they_ could be with Sasuke in the bathroom while _he_, his _lover_, couldn't. And Fifi and Cheyenne still stole his ramen every morning. Other than that, they were okay. It was nice to wake up with the gang of purring cats that would climb into bed with them every morning.

All the cats knew not to enter Itachi's bedroom where only Itachi-cat could sleep, and it was the only place where he slept, curled up on the bed (when he wasn't standing guard on Sasuke's back that is). Itachi was only friendly with Sasuke. He and Naruto tolerated each other. Let's say it was an honour because Itachi would hiss and claw at everyone else, and would go as far as to make his business everywhere guests he didn't like sat, Sakura still being number one on his book.

Speaking of her, she really avoided them. Naruto was glad and sad at the same time. He knew that she needed to lick her wounds and that it was better if she didn't approach them in her current state. Yet, he didn't want to lose her. Sasuke had forgiven her for Naruto's sake, but if she did it again, he knew his lover would push back, hard.

During all this time, she had only come to visit them once, and this one time he would never forget. It was the 10th of October. The day Kyuubi had attacked the village and the Yondaime had died along with so many people to protect the village. Every year the Hokage brought flowers to the hero's grave. It was a day of national mourning. It was also Naruto's birthday. He had never told a soul.

_Naruto__ woke up to an empty bed, like usual Sasuke was an early bird. Usually he didn't really mind, especially since it meant having a delicious breakfast ready and not having a horde of hungry cats mewling, rubbing or even chewing on his feet until he left the bed to feed them. Today however he wished his lover had stayed in bed; he would have snuggled in his warmth and taken comfort in the fact that he wasn't alone anymore._

_Grumpily he dropped in a chair and let Sasuke serve him breakfast. At least he always waited for Naruto before eating. _

_"Silk asked me to train her today," mentioned Sasuke. _

_Naruto nodded numbly. It meant he would see him since he didn't have to train Ibara and Ryû today. Ibara had to help out at the restaurant since it was a public holiday and Ryû had to stay with his father since they would surely go to the ceremony. _

_"Fine. I have something to do today," finally replied Naruto and Sasuke nodded. _

_It was true. Every year he would go to the ceremony and remain hidden in the trees. Once, when he was little, he had gone out of pure curiosity. He would never forget the looks of hatred and anger, some people had even thrown stones at him, ever since he would conceal himself. For a long time he hadn't known why it was so important and why on this day it was better for him to stay at home if he didn't want to be hit, but he had come because he guessed it had something to do with him. Afterwards, when he finally learned the secret, he had made it a question of __honor__ to assist._

_As Sasuke washed the dishes, he hugged him from behind. __He wanted to ask him to come with him, but at the same time this was something he had to do alone and Sasuke had something else planned anyway. _

_"What is it, dobe?" asked Sasuke since Naruto didn't relinquish his hold. _

_"Nothing," answered the blond, plastering a grin on his features. _

_Sasuke shrugged and left. Naruto sometimes found it really difficult to have an ice-cube as a boyfriend. He had secretly wished that Sasuke would notice that he wasn't feeling well… but it hadn't been the case. Or if he had noticed, he didn't care enough to ask. Naruto preferred to think that Sasuke hadn't noticed. He shook his head. He didn't like feeling moody like that, it jammed his Sasuke decoder and he would see everything in a very very bad light. Dressed all in black, he left to go to the ceremony; he was always early, but never as early as Kakashi-sensei. He was used to finding him already there, caressing names on the stone. _

_On his way back, he__ found Sakura. Since it was a deserted street, he couldn't avoid her even though he had wanted to. Obviously she had been looking for him. She looked a little sour and when she asked him to follow her because they needed to talk, Naruto resigned himself to having an even worse day. When they reached Ibara's parent's ramen shop he began to wonder what was going on. He had never expected to find all his friends gathered for a surprise birthday party. Even Ebisu was there, pushing his glasses, Ichiraku's owner too. Silk, Ibara, and Ryû were serving everyone. _

_Sakura wished him a happy birthday and disappeared for the rest of the party, even if he could feel her presence. __He had one of the best times of his life, yet something very important was lacking. Sasuke was nowhere in sight. He hadn't had the courage to ask why his lover wasn't there. When he went out to get some fresh air, a familiar form materialized next to him. _

_"D__id you like your little surprise?" _

_"A lot. You're the instigator aren't you?" answered Naruto, turning to face Sasuke. He blinked and motioned at him, "what happened? You're covered in mud and dust." _

_"Yeah, that's why I'm late. I had to go find you a gift," replied Sasuke, dusting his clothes. _

_"A gift? What gift? Show me! Show meeeee!" pleaded Naruto excitedly, jumping form foot to foot in circles around Sasuke like a kid, trying to see where his present was hidden. _

_The raven smirked at the blond's antics. Lee suddenly came out screaming, telling Naruto to come back to cut his cake. Naruto snatched Sasuke's hand and began to pull him. He froze as he saw some villagers' disapproving looks and their whispers. _

_"Having a party today…It's as if he was celebrating his victory… Always loud and bothering proper people… Poor Uchiha-san who has to bear him."_

_Naruto jumped as a__n arm dropped on his shoulders. _

_"Are you coming Naruto?__" asked Sasuke loud and clear, before turning his gaze to the passers by, making them gasp as they were faced with two blazing sharingans. _

_Naruto grinned and snake__d his arm around Sasuke's waist as they disappeared into the restaurant. His lover wasn't very demonstrative but when he was, it was worth it. _

_"I prefer this grin to the one in the kitchen this morning,__" was whispered in his ear and Naruto felt happiness wash over him. He had noticed and he cared. _

_"You didn't train Silk," he stopped in his tracks as realization hit him. _

_"Nope. I went to get your present, fortunately all the preparations for the party were done yesterday, and Miss Ji handled everything for today," explained Sasuke. _

_"__She's so nice!" exclaimed Naruto._

_Sasuke huffed. "She hugged me as payment," he growled. Naruto had to grip the raven's shoulder to keep his balance as he began laughing his ass off._

_"Hey, lovebirds, we don't have all night!" screamed Kiba._

_When the party finally ended and they made their way home Naruto had difficulty walking because of the sake and all the gifts he brought back, many of them not yet opened. They settled on the living room floor, Sasuke leaning on the couch as Naruto made himself comfortable between his legs, his back resting on Sasuke's chest. The cats, curious, settled on the couch and around them, their heads resting on Sasuke's or Naruto's limbs. Itachi sulked on the couch, angry at not being able to sit on his owner's lap. Fifi mewled until Naruto caved and let her sit on his lap. _

_They opened the remaining gift__s, Fifi peering at each one and eventually trying to eat them as they looked slightly edible. They found strange objects like a vibrator (Sasuke swore he would kill Sai), tomato flavoured lube, and ramen flavoured edible underwear (Naruto knew a dog-lover that wouldn't be able to approach Hinata for days, if not months), a puppet at Sasuke's effigy (Naruto couldn't believe Sasuke had gone as far as to warn the sand siblings of his birthday), a_ _rolling pin (they didn't want to know what Ino was thinking…). _

_"Hey, you didn't give me your gift,__" pointed out Naruto as all the packets laid open around them. _

_Sasuke dropped it on his lap, wrapping his hands around Naruto's waist and resting his head on his shoulder. __Naruto stared, it was sort of small. He shook it but it was limp. At last he tore the wrapping and gaped. _

_"It's custom made, especially for you. I had to order it outside Konoha. Neko-baa, from the Uchiha hideout really helped," explained Sasuke as Naruto kept staring, mouth slightly open, hands roaming on the soft fabric. _

_In front of him was a dark and orange toga, representing flames at the bottom. On the front it had Naruto's symbol, a beautiful spiral. Rokudaime was written on the back. It was a Hokage toga, the sixth Hokage's toga. _

_Naruto, completely__ mesmerized, stood and put it on, it fitted perfectly. As Naruto tried it on, moving and turning with it, Sasuke knelt before him, kissing the bottom of the dress. Naruto locked eyes with him, he felt like crying. _

_"I… I don't know what to say," he stuttered, his emotions too strong after receiving such a gift from Sasuke._

_He slowly took it off, he didn't want to spoil it before the day he could wear it proudly. He gently folded it, unable to stop his hands from roaming the soft fabric a little more. Naruto sat on the floor in front of Sasuke, fidgeting a little under his lover's gaze. _

_"I love you,__" he said grinning like an idiot. _

_The__re was a small silence and then Sasuke answered, "you are my link."_

_T__hey looked at each other for a moment and finally broke down laughing. Naruto leaning on Sasuke as his laughter finally died down. _

_"That really doesn't do it, right?" he asked, giggling a little more. Sasuke smirked, nodding visibly amused. _

_"We will have to find something else," pointed out Naruto. _

_"__But not now," he continued, pushing Sasuke on the floor. "I have to properly thank you for everything you did," he trailed as he kissed him. _

_At the same time he __threw a slipper at Itachi, the last remaining cat in the room, and received an indignant meow before the feline left with his rumpled dignity, giving a last hiss for good measure. _

And so two months went by with their share of events and boredom. At last here he was screaming and jumping with joy, they had a B class mission!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

My mother's cat used to do its business where people it didn't like sat the moment they left the house lol

Please leave a review.  
(for people who don't know what to say, just tell me what was your favourite part in the chapter (smile))

Oh and for those hoping for a Sasu Seme… I'm so sorry I just can't write it, I'm a Sasuke Uke lover, and there aren't many stories with him as an uke (well not enough for me lol). But that doesn't stop him from being 'in control', or being the one making the advances.

Next chapter: Camping

**Calendar**: if you have any question or if you want me to add some events, just ask in a review.  
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-Comments-

Dear **cfox**: "Will we see Suigetsu, or the Granny cat in this story ? You are talanted enough to write them in somehow. Or how about another story of Sai meeting Suigietsu and the convesation they would have, about male appendages size."  
Er… I was indeed thinking of adding Suigetsu, but I still don't know how to (sweat drop) and I don't want him to be a "bad guy" lol. The granny cat came up this chapter, maybe I will have the occasion to mention her again (I doubt it though).  
As for Sai meeting Suigetsu (male appendage size (chuckles)), I am sorry but, I don't think I will… I don't like Sai (sweat drop), even if he can be funny (his nickname clumsiness made me laugh in the manga, that's why I used him here).  
To cheer you up, I will just say that Manda will be coming back into the story; I hope you will still like him.

Dear **taloose**: Now you know why the NaruSasu relationship was a little off. It was because I was setting up the fight between them. Yet, I never thought it was this much. I mean… for me their love was still palpable (I tried to point out, some "love" moment in Naruto's rant about Sasuke not failing him). Moreover, keep in mind that since their first night (chapter 12 of Sound and Leaf) and the beginning of this chapter only 2 weeks and 4 days have gone by, and during that time Naruto and Sasuke weren't always together. The calendar will help you, I hope.

I thank you for your review because I prefer people telling me about their worries rather than just keep quiet and stop reading (even if this kind of review makes me worry sick lol). And you explained your point of view, which is great because at least I know what's wrong.  
I hope you loved this chapter and I hope the NaruSasu relationship will once again please you, otherwise don't hesitate to tell me, because it's something I'm willing to work on (it's not as if you were asking me to do a SasuNaru or Mpreg). Oh, but please, leave me your e-mail address so that I can contact you.

Sincerely,

Lisea


	8. Camping

**Chapter ****8: Camping**

I will never say it enough, but thanks to my Beta.  
Thanks to my friend She-Who-has-no-name for her help with Japanese words.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

Thanks for all the awesome reviews I received! I'm so so so glad!  
I'm sorry I'm not answering TT

Dear Taloose: I'm so sorry! I couldn't contact you because ff(dot)net doesn't display e-mail address! When you wrote your review and put your address inside, I didn't received it… you have to put it like: lisea18(a)hotmail(dot)com (which is my e-mail address by the way lol).  
well you have your answer at the end of the chapter!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"You've been shaming me!"

A whimper and the soft thud of a body collapsing against a wall followed the thundering voice.

"He's avoiding me. Not speaking to me. That's all your fault!"

"I am sorry," came the reply, barely a whisper.

"Don't you dare apologize, you pathetic being! That's why Uchiha-san doesn't like you!"

"Sasuke-sensei doesn't snap at me when I apologize."

A hand lifted in the air stopped just before striking as screeching filled the room. All motions stopped as the two men turned toward the cold beauty on her wheelchair.

"Annabelle," was uttered in a surprised whisper.

"Who are you to dare threaten my child?" said the woman in a voice as cold and cutting as a knife.

Ryû's father wavered a little before moving clumsily toward her, his features soft. "Dear, it's me, your…"

But as soon as the threat to her son vanished nothing else mattered. She passed him without a word, without a glance, rolling her wheelchair with the strength of her arms.

"Ryû, flesh of my flesh, dearest," she said, reaching for him, sliding her fingers in his hair. Ryû looked past her at his silent and slightly bent father.

"What are you looking at? Take care of your mother, worthless child!" screamed his father, slamming the door shut as he saw his wife caress her son's cheek and Ryû finally meeting her gaze.

"Yes Okaa-san?"

"I saw your bag in the corridor, you're leaving me again?" she asked tears in her voice, as a hand roamed in his hair, the other sliding down his arm.

"Yes, Okaa-san. I told you, I have another mission."

She began shivering, hands gripping at her son; slowly she forced him to lean on her, entangling their fingers and pressing her forehead to his.

"Let's make a promise, precious life."

Ryû sighed inwardly and lifted their tangled hands, she smiled at him.

"This life isn't mine. I shall treasure it as it is a gift. I shall not harm the flesh that isn't mine. I shall not put the body that isn't mine in danger. I swear on the blood running through these veins that I will keep this vow. For…"

"For a soul has lost everything to grant this life to you and you shall not betray the trust placed in you. You shall not waste such a gift. This life isn't yours and so you shall not dispose of it as you wish," ended Ryû's mother, releasing her hold and caressing his face, his shoulders, mapping his body with ghostly fingers.

"Lately you're always dirty and bruised. I don't like this team of yours. Don't help them, not even this Silk girl, they aren't worthy of you. Precious life, _nothing_ is worth more than you. You can't forget it, _never_. Promise me, Ryû, dear life, promise me."

"I promise, Okaa-san," he whispered.

He had a debt far too big. This life wasn't his and he wasn't allowed to protect people if it meant threatening the gift he had received. Someone had lost everything to protect him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara's mother was bustling about, her many layers of clothes flying around her, really giving the impression that she was one a plump woman. She was helping her son pack. She was putting in his bag everything that he could possibly need, not noticing that her son was taking almost everything out and hiding it under his bed. As if he was really going to need sunglasses, an ice pick, a book on how to survive camping, and other such things.

"And it's getting cold outside now, you absolutely need mittens!"

Ibara shook his head in despair. How was he supposed to hold a kunai with mittens? All his fingers but his thumb would be unusable.

Ibara had a deep scowl on his features as he had been forced to wear a scarf, mittens, and leg warmers. Perfect. And if Ryû would just be so nice as to stop laughing his ass off!

"Look at the bright side, you already had the beret," wheezed Ryû, trying to keep his balance.

As his mother went back to the kitchen to get his bento, Ibara tentatively took a glove off.

"Mrs Jiiiiiiii," yelled Ryû, snickering.

"Ibara, put those gloves back on this moment! You're going to catch a cold!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk checked her bag one last time, making sure that the two forehead protectors were safely in her bag. Then she took Gouz and left, locking the door behind her. Sasuke-sensei would be waiting for her to bring her cat so it wouldn't be lonely during their mission, with eight other felines, it sure wouldn't be.

She arrived to see her senseis ready to leave. Sasuke-sensei dropped Gouz inside and locked the door, almost slamming it on Naruto-sensei's fingers. She trotted behind the two bickering teachers and smiled at their antics. Sasuke-sensei was wearing a turtle-neck. Funny, every time they were going on a long mission he would wear one for a few days and then he wouldn't wear it anymore… and it really seemed to disturb him, he was always tugging at it.

"Morning!" greeted Ibara when he saw them arrive.

"What a beautiful day to go on a mission! The sun is shining making me even more attractive. Look at how its rays reflect on me! Don't you think so Silk?" said Ryû running a hand through his hair, in what was supposed to be a seductive way. (1)

"The only thing about you that shines is your hair" pointed out Silk, walking ahead just behind Sasuke.

"What? That's…" started Ryû.

"So true," finished Sasuke voice laced with amusement as Ryû became grumpy.

"Sasuke-sensei, you're not fair. You always favor Silk!" he whined, a shy smile on his lips.

Naruto crossed his arms behind his head, looking at his team and his lover. It was so nice to go on missions with all of them.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They stopped to pitch the camp. Ryû took the lead of the operation telling Silk that she should let them do it and try to coax Sasuke to give her a Katana lesson instead. Then he added that she needed the exercise because she seemed to have gained some weight. Ibara slapped his scalp for it, but grinned at seeing how much Ryû had progressed.

Naruto motioned Sasuke to go train Silk; after all pitching a tent didn't need five people. Sasuke kissed his knuckles before leaving. Naruto kept an eye on their training; Sasuke was as merciless as ever, not stopping even when it started to rain. But that didn't stop Silk either, quite the contrary.

"It's as if she's stronger when it's raining," pointed out Ryû, sitting next to Naruto. Ibara was cooking under a tent. Two extra people would have increased the risk of them making a mistake and burning down the tent.

"Nice observation, Ryû. She's indeed more concentrated and… her movements are more fluid."

"It's strange, rain should bother her plus the ground gets more slippery," pondered Ryû.

"Maybe that's what's forcing her to concentrate," replied Naruto, leaning on his bed, arms crossed behind his neck. But he knew that wasn't it. Sasuke had told him Silk's story, and Naruto knew the rain made Silk stronger because she saw it as her parents' embrace.

"Sensei?" asked Ryû slowly.

"Yes?"

"He doesn't hate me, right? And he's not avoiding father because of me… right?"

Naruto turned on his side, resting on his elbows. Ryû's bent back faced him and he could see the slight tremor that coursed through his body.

"You annoy him but keep in mind that he cares enough to snap at you. Sasuke's not the kind of person to judge people by their offspring or parents. If he's avoiding Mr Tokage, it's because he can't stand him. What made you think it was your fault?"

Ryû's shoulders dropped even more and he started poking at the tent. As silence stretched and Naruto figured he wouldn't get an answer but…

"I… mother… she… doesn't look at father anymore… and it's because of me… if mother doesn't acknowledge him."

Naruto steadied himself. This was important; Ryû was opening up to him, speaking of something he had never even mentioned before. He had to tread carefully. If he pushed too far the kid might clamp up, but if he didn't grab this opportunity he might never get another one. Thank God he had training with Sasuke; he just had to pray that his techniques would work as well on Ryû.

"Really?" he asked smoothly.

This was just perfect, he wasn't being curious or judging him but he showed some interest, and titillated just enough to make Ryû talk more about it. Once again a long silence answered him but Naruto knew better than to break it, he had to respect Ryû's pace.

"She… for me she…"

"Dinner's readyyyyy!" yelled Ibara.

Naruto bit himself not to scream in frustration, Ryû had bolted up and ran to the other tent. Well at least now he knew that Naruto was there to listen. He stood up and lingered outside, not caring that he was getting wet.

"Go ahead, Silk," he heard Sasuke say before feeling his comforting presence at his side.

"Say, you're avoiding Ryû's father?" asked Naruto, sneaking an arm around Sasuke's waist, feeling thrilled as Sasuke didn't fight him off.

"The man's a pain. Worse than his son and that's to say something. Why?"

"Nothing. Let's eat!" answered Naruto, taking a step before a hand grabbing his wrist stopped him. He turned to face Sasuke, an eyebrow lifted in question.

"It's nothing, I swear," reassured the blond, entering the tent and humming at the delicious scent.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk opened her bag and took out what she needed for the night, her hand grazed the two forehead protectors and she bent a little, looking at them, caressing the cold metal, feeling the scratch of the rain design on them.

"What's that?" asked Ryû from over her shoulder.

Silk jumped in surprise and closed her bag, hiding its contents. She bit her lips, worried… was Ryû going to fret about it? To stop trusting her once again?

"Seems like you're hiding important secrets and," began Ryû before catching himself. Taking a deep breath he mumbled, without looking at her, "S-sorry, none of my business."

Silk stared at him dumbfounded, releasing her hold on her bag. She eyed him suspiciously as he cleared his throat.

"Er… well better go to bed," he said sheepishly.

"They are the only memory I have of my parents. I always have them on me," offered Silk as recognition to his efforts.

Ryû turned toward her and started laughing. "That's stupid! It's only a sentimental memory, such a girly thing to do!"

Silk clenched her fists and turned her back to him. He wasn't even worth a comment… and she didn't want him to see that the remark had hit home, already her eyes were watering.

"But you know… I keep my mother's brooch with me… so I guess that's even more laughable… since I'm a guy," added Ryû scratching the back of his head in shame.

He sat next to her and took off his forehead protector from across his chest. He slowly turned it and showed it to Silk. A beautiful brooch was pinned to the back.

"That's why I keep it on my chest… to have the brooch against my heart" he said, putting it back on. "Yeah I know it's sappy," he added, standing up and making his bed. Damn, he had done it again… protecting himself by making fun of others. Sasuke-sensei would have snapped at him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"He's making progress," murmured Naruto.

"Hn," replied Sasuke.

They had both crept to the side of their tent, straining their ears to listen to Silk and Ryû, Naruto leaning on Sasuke to better hear the whispers.

"He did it again," growled Sasuke as he heard Ryû making fun of Silk.

Naruto slapped a hand on his mouth, "Shhh we will miss something."

The raven's eyebrows twitched and he started nibbling on the restraining hand, glaring at Naruto. Yet he still listened carefully at what was going on. Sounds of feet coming toward them, made them both jump. Hurriedly they dived into their beds, lowering their covers on them, trying to take a normal and carefree position. They heard Ibara enter his tent and released the breath that they had been unconsciously holding.

"We are pathetic," sighed Sasuke.

"It's only a little eavesdropping," argued Naruto grinning sheepishly.

They looked at each other, each one in their own bed, covers up to their chins, guilt written all over their faces. If Ibara had entered, he would have totally found them out. Burying their heads in the pillows they tried to stifle their chuckling.

Sasuke patted the place next to him and Naruto cuddled against him, it had become a habit that his lover always granted him. They heard Silk leave the tent and fifteen minutes later, Ryû snuck out too. Glancing at each other, they rolled on their side, to be able to hear what was going on. Naruto leaning on Sasuke's back, a hand around his waist, their fingers entangled.

"We are beyond redemption," whispered Naruto, Sasuke rolled his eyes.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara came back from his bath. Tomorrow would once again be a traveling day. He then made his bed, slid inside and after saying a "goodnight" went to sleep. Ryû joined him soon after but didn't even bother to close his eyes, he was troubled. He blinked when Silk left the tent. Where was she going?

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, Ryû let his curiosity have the better of him, and he crawled out of bed.

"What are you doing?" asked a sleepy Ibara.

"Nothing," lied Ryû. He wasn't up for a comment about how it wasn't his business and how a man shouldn't be nosy about a woman's business. Silk couldn't have possibly gone to the bathroom for this long, not even if she was constipated! So what could he stumble on? Nothing important for sure… well except if she was taking a bath… he would just have to be careful not to get caught. He had a feeling Silk, Ibara, and Sasuke-sensei wouldn't let him live long enough to say "shit"… Naruto-sensei would understand though.

He poked his head out and blinked. She was just standing next to the tent, under the rain; face lifted to let the water caress her face. So she wasn't exactly taking a bath, more like a shower.

"What are you doing here? You want to catch a cold or something?" he asked, startled.

She glanced at him but didn't move, letting the rain drench her, closing her eyes.

"I like rain… it fells so nice, it washes everything…"

Ryû crooked an eyebrow and successfully prevented himself from asking if she wanted some soap.

Silk looked at him, a gentle smile on her damp lips, drops clinging to her eyelashes like tears. "Yeah, even guys like you," she whispered.

Ryû felt a hard push on his back and stumbled out, right under the rain. Ibara had just thrown him out!

"Stay under it Ryû, you need it… a lot," advised Ibara, grabbing Silk by the arm and pulling her inside the tent, wrapping her in a towel. "Come in Silk, you don't."

Ryû crossed his arms, sulking and made a move to enter the tent when a low voice coming from the other tent stopped him.

"And don't come back in until you're bordering on hypothermia," ordered Sasuke.

"Don't say that, Bastard, he's going to do it for real!" admonished Naruto.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sun had just erased night's last tears and kept slowly rising in the sky without any clouds to protect the people from its shine. Yet, the forest kept her secrets in the nest of her shadows; nature was slowly stirring to life, nocturnal animals already hidden. The trees were spreading their branches, protecting and concealing the heart of the forest; a small river where the animals drank and enjoyed the coolness of the water. A soft wind let the scent of the still fresh forest spread, brushing the grass and playing with the dead leaves, giving them a second life for a precious moment.

Not too far away a beast was creeping in the shadows, ready to strike its unsuspecting prey. On its guard, eyes locked on its goal, it crawled toward the river, paying close attention not to make a sound. As it readied to pounce, a voice disturbed the peace.

"Naruto, I know you're lurking over there!"

The blond flattened on his stomach, cursing. He had wanted to surprise Sasuke! The kids wouldn't come to this part of the river. Besides, Silk was probably the only one awake, and… there was no bathroom door here. Licking his lips Naruto dashed in the water intending to catch Sasuke on the process. Unfortunately, the raven had already left the water and was now buried up to his eyes in a fluffy towel that covered his whole body. He lazily threw Naruto the soap.

"Awww come on Sasuke!" whined Naruto already knowing it was a lost cause. So much for the unsuspecting prey…

Sasuke was snickering as he rejoined the camp entirely dressed. Silk gave him a curt nod as she left for the river. From the corner of his eyes Sasuke caught another blond trying to sneak behind her. Were all blonds irremediable stupid perverts?

Grabbing Ryû by his collar and lifting him up to his face, he tapped his foot angrily.

"Er… good morning, Sensei" greeted Ryû, still dangling in the air.

And then he felt himself being thrown and hit the tent, that fell on him as he landed hard on the ground. Surprised he yelped and tried to free himself of the fabric, feeling Ibara also fighting to get out. As soon as an eye peered out, he wished he hadn't.

Sasuke had turned on his Sharingan, his katana was drawn and he was crouched in a fighting position. A set of shuriken lied at his feet, visibly dodged. In front of him stood a man dressed in a strange outfit with a big belt covering his stomach. He had grey hair framing his face and the rest was held in a low ponytail. He wore glasses that didn't hide the cold calculating eyes. He realized Sasuke had just saved his life.

"Such cute Genins," said the man, voice dripping sarcasm.

"Kabuto."

Ibara slowly caught a shuriken and was going to cut himself to help in the fight when Sasuke's voice stopped him.

"Stay out of this. This man isn't an opponent for you."

His eyes hadn't even moved from the man! Ibara dropped his weapon and stayed still. They would only be a hassle, no, they were already one.

"Uh oh seems like you care about them."

Sasuke didn't react; it was all to rile him up. He already knew team 5 was a weakness, but he couldn't have possibly avoided it. No need to linger on it. He had accepted it and now he would deal with it. But why wasn't Kabuto attacking? Or rather, why did he come? Kabuto wasn't stupid enough to think that he could beat him, Sasuke had killed Itachi and Kabuto was nowhere near his level. But, Sasuke shouldn't underestimate the man. After all the Akatsuki had recruited him, maybe only because he knew Sasuke, but still… treading carefully would be a good idea.

"The Akatsuki has a proposition for you, Sasuke-kun."

"So you did become an underling. I'm not joining them nor giving them Naruto," answered Sasuke in a monotone.

Kabuto shook his head and Sasuke gripped his sword a little harder. He looked too smug, what did he have in store? Damn and Naruto was alone… Akatsuki members always travelled in pairs. He was wasting time here.

"Oh? But where is the cute little genin girl? Silk isn't it? Wouldn't it be a pity if something happened to her…"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk untied her Katana and slowly began to take off her kimono; she was pulling her t-shirt over her head when she felt a tug on her wrist. Being a girl, she was used to trapping the place around her when she took a shower, too many perverts prowled in this world. The tug on her wrist meant someone was approaching. She grabbed her katana.

"Ryû that's better not be you," she warned, expecting to hear the person run away but she didn't.

Breathe. Stay calm. Concentrate. If the intruder didn't run away and wasn't making any sound it meant that whoever it was, it was dangerous. Focus.

Just then a man jumped out of the bushes and swooped down on her, kunai aiming for her arm. Silk didn't move an inch, looking at the man straight in the eyes and mouthed the words, "Seirei Kabe no jutsu!" (phantom wall)

The man passed through her, but didn't fall head first. He caught himself and slashed at her from behind, passing through her once again. Silk dashed to the forest, not waiting to see what was happening. Sasuke-sensei had told her that naming a Jutsu helped in using it. Indeed it did. She had needed less time to concentrate, but still she couldn't keep it up for long, even with her training. This man seemed really strong. She didn't stand a chance.

"Come back here you little…" yelled the man, dashing after her.

If she remembered correctly Naruto sensei should be taking his bath not far from here. She had to reach him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke smirked at that. He didn't have to worry about Silk, he had trained her personally. She was clever enough not to do anything stupid plus Naruto was nearby. He trusted him to be able to take care of himself and the girl. He had it all planned it since he was intelligent enough to admit his weaknesses he could find solutions to counter them.

Ryû grabbed Ibara's wrist and yanked him to his feet. They had to help Silk and get out of there to give Sasuke-sensei freedom of movement and opportunity to attack. He was sure the grey-haired man wasn't going to let them go easily, so he was going to attack. Sasuke wouldn't have to make the first move this way.

Kabuto groaned when he saw the kids make a mad dash for the forest. As he went after them, Sasuke took the opportunity to attack, blocking him with his katana. Kabuto dodged the blow and grabbed Sasuke's fist, having to jump backwards to duck the kick but he was not counting on Sasuke using his hands as support to send another kick right to his jaw. He disappeared in a puff of smoke, letting Sasuke's foot connect with a trunk. Kawarimi.

But Sasuke's Sharingan had already warned him and he was already sending shurikens in Kabuto's location, guiding them with steel bonds. He trapped Kabuto on a tree and sent a shuriken right to his heart, but it turned out to only be a Bushin. Chirping filled the air.

Ibara took a fast look behind him and saw Sasuke-sensei trap the man against a tree. And then his eyes widened. He pushed Ryû out of the way as two bushin came after them. He cursed as one slashed at him. He felt blood trickle down his arm, it had been ripped open the whole length. Blocking the next attack with a kunai he dipped his fingers in his blood and began to draw the words for his bloody-rain. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the other bushin going for Ryû. He hoped he would be fine; he couldn't help him right now.

Sasuke rushed on the bushin only needing a brush of his chidori to destroy them. Damn that Kabuto for making so many. He saw two bushins going for the kids. They should be able to deal with them but he shouldn't let himself be distracted! Here was the real Kabuto.

Ryû stumbled on the ground as Ibara pushed him out of the way of a bushin. Yet the latter trailed after him. Ryû tried to keep him at bay by sending shurikens and kunais but to no avail. He couldn't do as well as during training because this was a real situation. He could die. He yelped as the bushin dodged his last weapons and tried to run away. _You can't die. Remember this life isn't yours. You mustn't be hurt._

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto twitched as he felt a threatening chakra coming from the campsite. Damn! Grabbing his weapons he ran to help with the fight only to collide with Silk, or actually pass right through her. Whoa what a strange feeling. If she was running using her power it meant… yeah bad guy at three o'clock.

"Rasengan!"

Crap the man had disappeared! Where was he hiding? Naruto backed a little, taking in his surroundings. Silk was near him, catching her breath. She was covered in cuts; obviously she hadn't been able to keep up her jutsu all the way. A chill ran up his nape as he felt the man materialize at his back.

"Sensei!" screamed Silk, stabbing the man with a kunai. A hard slap sent her flying against a tree and she coughed up blood.

"You asshole!" yelled Naruto, eyes turning into slits as he gripped the man's neck in a death grip, claws biting into the flesh before sending the Rasengan straight in the man's stomach.

"Silk?" he asked worried, taping her cheek to make her focus on him.

"Fine," she mumbled, eyes crossing a little. She stood up, slightly wavering and they went to see how the other fight was going.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke plunged his sword right in Kabuto's heart and groaned when another corpse met him. Kakashi had told him about this jutsu. They used another body for their dirty business and so killing him didn't dispel the bushins. Dropping the dead man he materialized at Ibara's side as the kid was dealing with two new clones. In one smooth movement of his katana filled with chidori he took care of them. Ibara sighed with relief and immediately turned toward Ryû. The latter was in a bad position, cornered against a tree and his opponent coming at him; visibly he didn't have any weapons left. Ibara prepared to use his rain but Sasuke's hand stopped him.

"Let him deal with that."

"But…" started Ibara before lowering his hand. Sasuke-sensei wouldn't let Ryû die. It was time to let Ryû do things for himself. He chewed his lip nervously.

He was dead. He was so dead. _You mustn't put yourself in danger._ The tree was preventing him from escaping and the man was coming right at him. He had no more weapons… maybe he could dash to the side? Ryû felt his legs tremble and soon his whole body was shivering in fear. His body wasn't responding. _This life isn't yours. You cannot die._ Move, move, move… come on. _Don't help other if you can be hurt, sweet life, flee whenever needed, don't fight._ His eyes widened when a blow hit him straight on the stomach, making him fall on his knees. _You mustn't die._ He couldn't flee and nobody was there to help him. _Because someone lost everything for you_. He saw a kunai raised above his head._ You mustn't die_. He had to act now. He had to fight because it was the only way. _You mustn't die_. Now! He made the seals.

"Haku matsuri no jutsu!" (white festival no jutsu)

A white cloud enveloped the bushin and it stopped dead in its tracks, looking disoriented before dispelling. Ryû slid on his side, grabbing his stomach. He saw a katana bury straight in front of him and winced, shaking in fear. Then he saw Sasuke-sensei kneeling in front of him. He felt his hand lay on his stomach and warmth spreading through him, the ache was going away. Ibara was there smiling at him, and he could see Naruto-sensei and Silk too. His mother would be glad that he hadn't died… he was hoping he wouldn't have any marks otherwise she would make a fuss. He felt so tired.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Handy this little jutsu you learned from Sakura," remarked Naruto as he saw Ibara's cut slowly closing.

"Hn," replied Sasuke letting Naruto bandage the kid since the jutsu was too weak to heal it completely.

Silk was holding her katana looking worriedly at her two team mates, at Ibara getting his arm bandaged and Ryû sleeping next to him. Fortunately they hadn't gotten badly hurt. They only had some cuts and contusions.

"Well Ryû finally showed us what he is capable of. It's a huge progress," said Naruto. It had been a good idea to leave Ryû on his own.

"He has the same power as his father," mentioned Sasuke.

"Huh?"

"Haku matsuri no jutsu. It's the Tokage family's secret jutsu. It deprives adversaries of all their senses for a short period of time," he explained.

"Good thing Ryû's father taught him the seal," sighed Naruto, at least the man had done that much. He didn't know what was going on in this family but he had thought that Mr Tokage wouldn't care enough to teach his son a jutsu. Fortunately he had been wrong.

"It was Kabuto from the Akatsuki. He used a jutsu to control somebody else's body. Visibly the man you fought was just a hired ninja."

"Kabuto is only a tool for them. After all, he's not strong enough for such an organization. He's only an underling. They only use him because he knows the two of us. But why didn't he go after me? Aren't I their target?"

"He asked me to join them. They must be trying to lessen their loss. They want my eyes."

"Yeah… Konoha did kill Sasori, Kazuku, Hidan and you killed Itachi plus Suna is also tracking them down."

Ibara and Silk stared at each other. This seemed to be a really serious matter. They didn't understand what it was all about but obviously Naruto-sensei was in danger and the guy they fought was part of an even more powerful organization.

"This has become an S-class mission," muttered Ryû, who had just woken up. All eyes set on him. "I heard father talk about the Akatsuki."

"We should drop the B-class mission and go back to Konoha," sighed Naruto.

He had been so happy to finally have a mission. Damn those Akatsuki members! Couldn't they just leave him alone?

"We don't have much of a choice; it's too dangerous with them around," agreed Sasuke nodding toward team 5, his frown showing how upset he was.

He wanted to drop the kids off at Konoha and hunt down the organization. They couldn't live with this threat hovering above their heads. He wouldn't let them have Naruto. But he knew the Hokage wouldn't let them hunt Akatsuki.

"So we're going back?" asked Silk.

"Yes. Sorry kids," said Naruto grinning sheepishly.

"It's too dangerous for our level. It would be stupid to continue," said Ibara, standing up and beginning to take down the camp, Silk and Ryû following his lead in silence. It was obvious that they were frustrated but they understood that it was the right choice. Naruto was amazed by their maturity.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When night fell they still hadn't reached Konoha, but since everyone was extenuated from the morning fight and the traveling, they decided to set camp. During the journey, Naruto had praised Ryû for his fight, but the latter hadn't seemed happy about it. He hadn't boasted nor said any stupid comments. He had been quiet for the whole journey. When they were jumping from tree to tree, Ryû had sought Sasuke's company. The raven had let him travel with him, sensing the kid was troubled. Many times Sasuke could have sworn that the boy wanted to say something but had given up.

Even while they ate he was still unusually quiet and afterwards he went straight to sleep. Ibara knew he wasn't sleeping. Was he worried? No, when he was he would speak non-stop. Jeez, for once Ibara would have loved a running commentary, because to tell the truth he was rather apprehensive about all this Akatsuki business. Curling up a little he closed his eyes, he could hear Silk's breathing. She wasn't asleep either.

Suddenly the tent opened and Silk and Ibara bolted to a sitting position, both holding a kunai under their sheets. Ryû didn't move. Naruto grinned reassuringly at them.

"Just so you know, Sasuke called Manda to keep watch and we will sleep with one eye open," he winked at them and left.

Ibara settled back on his bed and smiled as he closed his eyes once again. He felt far more secure and before he knew it, sleep had claimed him.

Ryû heard Ibara's breathing deepening; he had succeeded in falling asleep. Too bad Ryu couldn't do the same. There was too much going on in his head. He couldn't afford to get hurt or die because this life wasn't his but today he had had to save his skin. He couldn't always rely on others, but fighting might get him hurt… he had a contradiction here.

And what about his loved ones? Sasuke had said he was trash because he had the power to save them and didn't use it. Could he risk his life for people he cared for? _No one is worth your life. You're not to choose what to do with this life, it's not yours. _Yes… but… couldn't he give to someone else the gift he had received? No. That would mean making that person suffer like he did, stealing their life. And wasn't it horrible to have someone die for you? Wouldn't you ask yourself if you deserved it? Wouldn't you wish to be the one who had died instead? It was too horrible. But did he have the right to put himself in danger for someone else? Even if it meant getting hurt, didn't he have at least this small liberty?

Silk was scared; even knowing that Manda was here didn't really help. She didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night because they were under attack. As soon as she closed her eyes she saw men coming to kill her team mates and senseis. She could feel slight tremors shaking her body. Her grip tightened on her katana, it would keep her and her team safe.

"Breathe… don't worry, stay calm… hold on to Kakashi's katana. It may not be as soft as a teddy bear but it will give you strength… see? You're already feeling better…" she tried to reason herself. Yet the feeling didn't last and soon she found herself getting up and going out… if it only would rain.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke patted Manda as he appeared. The Snake immediately curled around him and pushed him with his head, eyes catching his, a silent request to know what was wrong. Caressing the cool and soft skin Sasuke leaned on his friend.

"I need you to keep watch for us. We're having trouble with the Akatsuki."

"Sleep assured; my subjects and I will keep the place safe," assured Manda, slightly tightening his hold. He could feel the raven's worry through his tense position.

Sasuke took comfort in Manda's presence. He wouldn't let them take Naruto. Never. He wouldn't lose another precious person. He was going to make them suffer; he would tear them to shreds for hurting Naruto. He knew the blond felt responsible. He had issues with the Kyuubi inside him. When the villagers or Mr Tokage attacked him, Naruto never responded. He would only say, "wait until I'm Hokage! You will have to acknowledge me!" The Akatsuki didn't see Naruto as a human being, just as a tool. The villagers saw him as a monster. Sasuke was well placed to know none of that was true.

He would do anything for Naruto. Because he had accepted him as he was. He hadn't tried to change him. He had understood and forgiven everything. Sasuke knew Naruto had reached to him for help and he would gladly take his hand and help him. Naruto had become his everything. Just as he had given his all to beat Itachi, he would give his all to protect his lover.

"Perfect," finally said Sasuke, still caressing and scratching the snake. "Take your real form," he added.

Manda nodded and regretfully parted from his caster. In a puff of smoke he took back his real length and height, only seeing Sasuke as a small point. The raven waved at him and went to his tent, where his blond lover was undoubtedly waiting for him. (2)

Naruto was already lying on his futon, propping on his elbows as soon as Sasuke entered.

"They are worried even though Manda is here," said Naruto.

"It's the first time they've met death and are involved in an S-class situation," shrugged Sasuke. He had been shivering with fear when they met Zabusa and also the first time he met Orochimaru. It was a normal reaction.

Sasuke sat on his futon and turned his back to Naruto, groaning as he felt the latter climbing on him. Soon his head appeared in his field of vision, grinning like an idiot and leaning on his side, one hand resting on the futon in front of Sasuke, the other grabbing his shoulder to keep his balance.

"Aww and my good-night kiss?" he asked, puckering his lips and fluttering his eyelashes.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, gave him a peck and smirking evilly pushed Naruto away by jerking his arm up, making him fall on his ass. Naruto kicked his back as retaliation.

"Bastard."

"I know you. You're going to molest me, dobe," replied Sasuke, not turning toward Naruto, he couldn't let the blond see his amused smirk. He was in a playful mood tonight.

"I wouldn't have but since you're offering…" teased Naruto, suiting the action to the word literally pouncing on Sasuke to try and assault him.

Sasuke of course fought back and they started to squabble, kick, push, grope and roll around until the tent threatened to fall on top of them. Naruto was chuckling madly and Sasuke smiling slightly as they stopped their antics. Naruto was resting between Sasuke's legs, leaning on his palms not to fall on Sasuke. The latter had a leg propped on Naruto's back, his other bent so the knee poked the blond's side, an arm glided around his neck, the other one grabbing his shirt at hip's level. They were both completely dishevelled.

"You know you're in quite compromising position, don't you?" teased Naruto.

It wasn't even that he really wanted sex. It was all for the teasing. He loved their little fights and he was sure Sasuke loved them as much as he did.

"So much for not wanting to get groped," sighed Sasuke, bending Naruto's head to kiss him slowly. Naruto deepened the kiss and glided his hands inside Sasuke's yukata, caressing his side and making him shiver.

"You said you wouldn't," pointed out Sasuke but he wasn't trying to stop the teasing hands. He gasped as Naruto leaned further on him, parting his legs even more.

"That was before," replied Naruto smugly as he kissed Sasuke's shoulder, just at the base of the neck where Orochimaru's seal had been. Sasuke jerked against him, his back arching, letting Naruto lean even more on him. Giving the blond's hands opportunity to slide down his back, pushing the yukata off as much as they could, brushing against his behind as Naruto devoured his neck.

Naruto smiled when Sasuke didn't resist him. On the contrary his hands trailed in his hair and he kept arching to give him more access. Naruto knew what made Sasuke growl with desire, what made him arch, twist and writhe under him, what made him gasp and bite his lip, and even what made him silently scream.

Dark lust filled eyes met equally filled blue ones and for a moment all motions stopped. Naruto was smiling lovingly asking if he really could. Sasuke was glaring in fondness, which meant yes.

"I promise I will be quiet," whispered Naruto as he tugged at Sasuke's pants.

"You'd better," warned Sasuke lifting a little to let Naruto undress him, as they kissed once again.

They both froze dead when they heard someone exit the adjoining tent and then heard Silk greeting Manda explaining that she was too stressed to sleep and just wanted to walk for a bit in front of the tent.

"They must do it on purpose," whined Naruto.

Sasuke stared at him and bit his lip not to snicker. Naruto laid his forehead on Sasuke's and they looked at each other fondly with amused expressions. They disentangled themselves and Sasuke let Naruto cuddle against him.

"I think I found out what to answer when you say you love me," began Sasuke.

The blond pressed harder against him, waiting, his heart beating a little faster.

"You're my everything," whispered Sasuke, bringing Naruto's knuckles to his lips to kiss them.

"Hn," replied Naruto snickering as Sasuke elbowed him. The blond pretended he had something in his eyes, they sure weren't watering because of what Sasuke had said.

One hour later Silk was still pacing up and down. Naruto wasn't sleeping nor was Sasuke. As Naruto began to trail teasing fingers, Sasuke started slapping them away. What was he asking for? Had the blond no shame? Of course he had none!

"Shouldn't you be worried about her being this troubled, huh?" pointed out Sasuke.

Then they heard Silk begin to do push ups, counting softly, "one, huff, two, huff, three…"

"What the hell is she doing?" they both asked and then Naruto sneaked a hand in Sasuke's pants. Sasuke got up bolt upright and shaking off Naruto's grip went out.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk began doing push ups. If she wore herself out, she might be able to sleep. It had already been an hour since she had left the tent. She couldn't go to Manda. She didn't want to distract him from his watch.

Suddenly she heard sounds coming from her senseis' tent and froze. Sasuke exited the tent, scowling and kicking something back inside (it couldn't have possibly been Naruto-sensei, right?). Her sensei looked dishevelled and rather annoyed. Had she woken them up? Was she going to be scolded?

Sasuke grabbed her arm and dragged her inside the tent where Naruto-sensei looked at her wide-eyed before starting to sulk and pout; sending reproachful looks toward Sasuke. The latter laid down and patted the place right between Naruto and him. Silk cautiously went to lie down, moving as close as possible to Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked at Naruto as Silk settled next to him, her back to Naruto. There. The dobe wouldn't dare try something with Silk in the tent. As Naruto eyed him with hatred, Sasuke smiled cockily, resting on his side to look at Naruto triumphantly.

Naruto knew what this expression meant. It was the _I won, dobe. With her inside you will back off _look. Bastard. Still sulking he raised his covers up his chin and ignored Sasuke and Silk. Until he saw a small and trembling hand grip a part of Sasuke's yukata. He saw the raven's eyes widen and a frown mark his features for a moment, he seemed to be fighting himself. Finally he did nothing and the grip on his yukata lessened as Silk drifted to sleep.

"You big softie," mouthed Naruto, receiving a death glare from his lover.

Naruto lifted an eyebrow, tilting his chin in Silk's direction, challenging Sasuke to push her away. Sasuke huffed and leaned his head on his stretched arm, closing his eyes. It gave the impression that he was curling slightly above Silk, a protecting position even if they were not even brushing each other with the exception of the hand gripping the yukata. Naruto grinned and moved a little to grab Sasuke's hand above Silk's head.

"What, you scared?" taunted Sasuke, opening on eye but catching the hand, making small circles on it with his thumb.

"More like horny," replied Naruto cockily.

"Don't you dare," growled Sasuke eyes narrowing.

"Hey, I'm not that perverted," replied Naruto, indignantly. Sasuke gave him such a disbelieving look Naruto had a hard time not laughing. He closed his eyes as Sasuke entangled their fingers.

Morning found them still in this position. Silk had gotten even closer to Sasuke in her sleep. His scent made her feel safe and loved, Naruto-sensei too but… not in the same way. Sasuke and her shared something more. Naruto and Sasuke were still holding each other's hand and between them, next to Silk, rested Ibara and Ryû who had sneaked in during the night after receiving a nod from Naruto and taking Sasuke's grunt as a yes. Of course Ryû seeing Silk's hold on Sasuke's yukata, had tried to do it too. One sharingan eye later he had settled for curling between Silk and Ibara.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manda had taken the size of a normal snake and curled around Sasuke's body as they traveled, gaining this privilege from having stood watch during the whole night. Naruto was eyeing him suspiciously, soon starting a glaring contest. A vein was starting to pop on Sasuke's head and his eye was twitching in annoyance.

Ryû was back to his usual self, trying to impress Silk and look intelligent, which was a disaster since everything that left his lips was utter stupidity.

"And so I'm the perfect partner for you Silk."

"I don't want moronic children," snapped Silk, not bothering to look at her team mate. Sasuke smirked.

"Oh don't worry they will take after me," replied Ryû, earning a hard slap from Ibara and a snort from Silk.

"That's what is worrying me, you complete idiot," retorted Silk.

"What? Sasuke-sama, it's not true, is it?" yelled Ryû.

"Silk's never been more right," sneered Sasuke.

Manda eagerly nodded in agreement, before licking his lips. Ryû's steps faltered when the "Utter moron, agreed by Sasuke-sama" hit him like a brick on the head and backed away from Silk as he saw the snake's motion. He had a feeling that even if he didn't taste great the snake was itching to eat him.

As he moved to the back toward Ibara he caught something moving overhead and blinked, "oh look a white bird!"

Naruto lifted his head and screamed, "under cover NOW!"

They dove out as the bird swooped down on them and exploded. Naruto snatched Ibara and rolled with him as exploding white millipedes came their way. Ryû had thrown kunai at the ones approaching him, making them explode. Sasuke took care of the birds flying around; using threads of steel to slice them. Silk surveyed the ground to prevent millipedes from reaching them. They were now surrounded by thick smoke.

"Deidara. Uses clay to make explosives in all kinds of forms," summed up Naruto.

Ryû's knees were buckling in fear as he stood back to back with his team mates. He could see Ibara sweating in anxiety and Silk's white knuckles hold on her katana. For once he wasn't the only one freaking out. But that wasn't very comforting, was it?

Suddenly a rumbling sound reached their ears. The ground started to shake and they could hear some trees crashing. Was that the sound of water, of rushing water?

"Jump!" ordered Sasuke, as they leaped on branches, having to hop from tree to tree since some were uprooted by the rushing water. Soon water was everywhere, reaching the upper branches of the tallest trees.

"Hoshigaki Kisame. Water Jutsu. His sword, Samaheda, can only be used by him and it absorbs chakra. Just in case the grey-haired man is Kabuto, medic-nin, chakra scalpels," informed Sasuke.

As soon as he had finished with his explanation a blue skinned man appeared on the water, a huge sword on his shoulder, grinning with all his pointed teeth. On his side was Kabuto, pushing up his glasses and looking smug.

"Art is a bang! Hun!" said excitedly the one called Deidara, circling above them in the sky.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(1) think of L'Oreal lol

(2) Remember when Manda appeared and Orochimaru was standing on him… Orochimaru was really, really small. Since I made Sasuke and Manda pretty close, it wouldn't have been possible with Manda always being so big. All the small scenes I wrote were with a smaller Manda. For me Manda can change his size. I just wanted to explain it so you wouldn't get confused with me changing his size all the time (smile)

He he he aren't I awful to end it here? Well, please review! .

Oh I chose not to use Tobi because we don't know yet what his powers are.

Next chapter: Loss

-Comment-

Dear Taloose:

I was so disgusted not to be able to write to you TT  
Well let's answer to your reviews (smile) the first one first:

Don't worry about your critique, it made me realize I was a little too much in my own conception of Sasuke, if I want my readers to follow me, I have to explain them how I see Sasu (smile)  
Your "mistake" was perfectly normal. Eri (my Beta) and Simple-minded-idiot (a friend) actually told me it was hard to see that Sasuke cared about Naruto because he was incredibly subtle about it. I had to explain how he worked, and your review made me realize that, so thank you. I'm glad this chapter helped understanding the love between Naru and Sasu.  
Don't hesitate to point out if the NaruSasu relationship seems weird to you.

blush thanks (smile) glad to hear I helped you understand Sasuke (at least how I see him), the man is so hard to write lol

blush even redder whoa… er thanks. Glad you love my writing style (smile)

I was so sad to have to kill Itachi but… I just had to. So I found it nice to make him sort of come back with a cat. I believe Sasuke and Itachi have a strong link, even if we still don't know what Itachi really think about his little brother, I wanted the cat to love Sasuke.

I'm your favourite author? I'm touched, I hope I will be able to leave up to your expectations.

Kishimoto would be wondering why the hell I'm putting Naru and Sasu together lol even if he doesn't seem to mind Yaoi this much lol

Thank you for such a kind review (smile)

(second review)  
I'm sure you aren't as ignorant as you say and even if it was true I don't think I would mind.  
As you know, I didn't receive you e-mail address TT, I gave you mine, you can write to me directly (just put as subject: Taloose).  
Unfortunately I will go on holiday pretty soon and I don't know if I will have a good access to internet. So don't worry if you don't receive an answer very fast (if after one month you didn't get one, then send back the mail, because it would mean I didn't received it. I _will_ answer you.)

OO you draw? You're kidding? You would do that? OMG that's one of my dreams! You can't believe how much that would make me happy! (at this point, I went berserk not to have your e-mail lol)

I hope we will succeed in contacting each other (smile)

Sincerely,

Lisea


	9. Loss

**Chapter ****9: Loss**

I will never say it enough, but thanks to my Beta.  
Thanks to my friend She-Who-has-no-name for her help with Japanese words and for being a guinea-pig for this chapter.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

A deep hearted thanks to all the people who read and especially to the people who reviewed!

Ok dear readers, take a deep breath. Here comes an awfully long fight. Hope it won't bore you. I decided to put it all in one chapter so it would be done with. I tore my hair out to write it. I totally hate writing fighting scenes, but this had to happen and in my mind couldn't be shorter.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kisame and Kabuto were in front of them and Deidara circling above their heads. They had three Genins with them that couldn't yet deal with such opponents.

"Ok kids, the mission is staying alive and…"

"Can we flee?" asked Ryû. Naruto thought Sasuke was going to kill him right there.

"No Ryû. Sorry, they'll want to keep you here," replied Naruto.

"Because we are an inconvenience," concluded Silk bitterly. She didn't want to be a weakness. They were going to help out all they could, even if she had to kick Ryû in the balls to make him move. Ibara nodded at her and Ryû gulped.

Ryû eyed the two people in front of them. He had already met Kabuto once. The other was just disturbingly… blue. He made him think of…

"So we are facing a premature old man and a stinky shark-like dude?" remarked Ryû, looking perplexed.

Kisame's eyes twitched at the comment. Kabuto blinked. Silk looked at her team mate dumbfounded; not only was he going to send her to her death to save his skin, he had to provoke them too!

"Shut up, Ryû you're going to make them angry," whispered Ibara.

Naruto began to laugh and Sasuke would have slapped his face with his palm hadn't the situation been as serious as it was. Kabuto cleared his throat and opened his mouth, visibly to say something but Kisame dashed on the water, Samaheda trailing behind him parting the water.

"Itachi's brother, I wanted to confront you! And afterwards I will skin those kids," he said, slamming his sword on Sasuke who parried with his katana, knees flinching under the impact. What raw strength!

At the same time birds began to rain on them, some blazing the trees and sending shards of wood flying everywhere. Naruto dodged the birds and went for Kabuto. He knew a Ransengan in the stomach would take care of him; the only problem was reaching the man.

Ibara, Ryû, and Silk dived into the water and noticed with horror that the birds could still follow them and explode under water. At least they would cause less damage; they just had to make sure to concentrate chakra in their eardrums to protect them from being destroyed by the pressure. Silk motioned to the big bird above them and her team mates nodded. They had to take it down. How? They turned to Ryû who grinned.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke felt his knees weakening as he held his katana with both hands, one on the hilt and the other under the blade in order to not break down as Kisame kept pushing. The shark-man suddenly took one hand off his sword and aimed a punch at Sasuke's face, knowing the raven couldn't dodge as Samaheda's pressure kept him in place. He hadn't counted on Manda rushing from inside Sasuke's kimono to wrap around the arm, immobilizing it before biting the flesh of the hand holding the sword. Kisame dropped the sword and cursed, jumping backward, the snake retreating to his caster before being caught.

"Nice," acknowledged Sasuke as he darted on Kisame, chidori blazing.

Kisame just had enough time to put Samaheda in front of him to take the blow. Grinning as his beloved weapon absorbed the attack. However Sasuke had already taken support on the sword to land a momentum fuelled kick on him. Kisame blocked with his arm cursing at the strength behind it. Sasuke was already attempting to punch him with his free hand. The shark snorted, the raven wouldn't have enough strength to really hurt him. He then swore as Manda leaped at his throat. He dived into the water, abandoning his sword.

Sasuke let chidori chirp and aimed it straight at Kisame's emerging form, the sharingan really was useful. Kisame wouldn't be able to parry this time. But Sasuke hadn't counted on an explosive bird falling on top of him. Sasuke just had enough time to jump backwards to lessen the impact. Manda grew to shield him as much as he could.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As team 5 came back to the surface they were greeted with a wave of fish-shaped bombs that would undoubtedly pursue them underwater. If their forms were any indication, they would be fast.

Silk grabbed Ibara who grabbed Ryû as they dived under water. They had been right about the explosive fish. Silk clutched Ibara's shoulder and threw her katana at a fish making it explode, withdrawing the blade before it received any damage. Silk hadn't been trained by Sasuke-sensei for nothing! She had tied steel thread to the handle of her katana so she could direct it. Winding the thread around her wrist she made her weapon turn around them as fast as she could, creating a sort of barrier. The movements in the water pushed some bombs away or destroyed them. Ibara caught her arms and helped her go faster by lending her his strength.

Once back on the surface laughter greeted them. Deidara seemed happy that they had survived. "Nice, nice, kids! Hun!"

The asshole was playing with them! And there was yet another lot of bombs, with a different form while the man was still safely in the air on his bird. Silk was ready to dive but Ryû was looking around, trying to come up with an idea. They had precious seconds before the explosives reached them, the only advantage of having their adversary high in the air.

"Ibara can you make rain on him?" asked Ryû.

"He's too high up," groaned Ibara.

"Dive now!" screamed Silk and they sank into the water.

Silk once again tried to protect them by making her katana turn around them. This time the bombs were even faster and broke through Silk's makeshift barrier. Ibara yanked them both behind a submerged tree that took most of the explosion's impact, but they were still sent flying against a cluster of sunken tree trunks. They were full of scratches and they had to breathe now.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto made the seals for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. With all of them attacking at once, he could surely find a way to send a Rasengan to Kabuto's stomach. The grey-haired man leaped in the air and started dispelling them, stabbing some of them with his scalpels and kicking the rest.

"You won't have me like that, Naruto-kun. Still so weak," boasted Kabuto.

"Fuck off, four eyes!"

"At least I'm not a one man trick," replied Kabuto, killing the last bunshin and standing triumphantly on the water.

Naruto launched at him and he snorted in disdain. As the blond reached him he slashed at his throat but only met a puff of smoke. Another bunshin. Kabuto grabbed the real Naruto's wrist just in time before it connected with his face. As he tried to cut him, Naruto kicked and made him release his hold. He groaned as even more bunshins entered the fight.

Naruto grumbled as all his bunshins were dispelled not even giving him an opening. No wonder Kabuto had been Orochimaru's right hand man, he was quite strong! It was really bothersome to keep his distance to evade the chakra scalpels.

Making another wave of bunshins he readied three Rasengans, trying to corner the man with at least one. Kabuto began to fight them off, always paying attention to the ones in pairs. Because he knew those were then ones able to do the Rasengan. As a duo and a single reached him he slashed at one of the duo's.

"Got you!" screamed the blond, Rasengan connecting with Kabuto's arm. He had improved; he was able to do the Rasengan alone now. Kabuto simply slipped into the water. Damn! Where was he now? With all those trees he wouldn't see clearly.

A sharp pain on his left foot and his ankle twisting as the tendon was cut answered him. He used a bunshin to wrench him off. He couldn't stand now. Great. This kind of adversary was for Sasuke damn it! The Kisame guy looked more like himself, raw strength.

Kabuto emerged, his left arm and a part of his shoulder being useless now. He had saved his skin with his regenerating capacity but he had to sacrifice his arm for it. He needed to conserve his chakra.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A lightly bruised Manda curled back on his caster. Sasuke coughed and swept blood off of his eyes. Only minor injuries, but the bird had accomplished its purpose, already Kisame was dashing on him, Samaheda once again in his hands. Manda hissed and Sasuke glared, annoyed.

Kisame looked at the injured young man and slashed, the raven blocking the blow once again. The snake pounced on him but Kisame had seen it coming and caught him, cracking its skull in a death grip. He let go of the dead thing and grinned as he saw the Uchiha flinch. He must have loved his pet. Taking this opportunity he kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying.

The Uchiha caught himself on the water and tried once again to hit him with his chidori. Kisame let Samaheda eat it all and using his raw power pushed, connecting with his adversary's hand. He heard the bones cracking and in one smooth movement crushed his arm, shaving a part in the process.

"Hn. Can't believe you killed Itachi," he grunted out, at the dark haired man who had fallen backward, a hand pressed on what remained of his arm to stop the blood.

And then his eyes widened as the blood pouring out of the wound transformed into myriads of snakes. All lashed at him at the same time, their jaws wide open, poison leaking from their fangs.

"Fuck. An illusion," growled Kisame.

Slapping his hands together he concentrated chakra and closed the chakra road to his brain, where the jutsu was anchored.

"KAI!" he screamed, freeing all his chakra and blowing up the illusion.

Sasuke swore as his jutsu was dispelled. The man had far too much chakra!

"That won't work on me," informed Kisame, after all he had been Itachi's partner.

Sasuke pondered using the Mangekyô Sharingan illusion. It would diminish a lot of his chakra plus using it often would slowly damage his eyes besides, the shark knew this technique. It should be his last resort. Kisame knew that. Dark comas turning in his eyes, Sasuke drew his katana, readying himself for another round. Manda rose from his collar, prepared to help.

"Manda! Eat the damn birdie!" someone yelled from behind them.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Team 5 pierced the surface once again. On their side they heard an explosion and saw Sasuke back away, slightly injured. The shark launched at him but suddenly stopped, motionless, eyes glazed.

"Sharingan," murmured Ryû.

"Ryû think of something to take down Deidara!" pressed Silk, wondering how they were going to survive his next attack. Her eyes widened as she saw one lonely bird descend toward them. One quite huge lonely bird. That surely would hurt.

Ryû racked his brain for ideas. Ibara's rain couldn't reach the man; Silk's power was useless except to save her own skin and his power… oh. Yes that might work; he just needed to distract the man to have enough time to concentrate, do the jutsu, and strike. Hopefully it would reach him…

Ibara looked at Silk and at the thinking Ryû then at the explosive bird coming to them. He could take down this one. He reached for his backpack. Silk clapped her hands as she realized what he was doing. She felt a little relieved.

"Evil Wind Shuriken, Shadow Windmill," muttered Ibara, unfolding the huge Shuriken. He looked up and bent a little, spreading his legs to have solid ground. He pushed his arm as far behind as he could and threw the shuriken with all his strength. The bomb was too big to be fast and it would be hard for their enemy to see the shuriken in time to evade it.

Deidara swore as his new art blew off in the sky. So they had long range weapons but hadn't been stupid enough to try and take down his birds with them. The kids really were fun to play with. He dug his hand in his clay, letting the mouth knead it.

Ryû saw as Kisame destroyed the illusion and suddenly tilted his head as he saw Manda poke out from Sasuke's clothes. Perfect!

"Silk, Ibara, cover me!" he ordered.

Ibara and Silk looked at each other, that was what they _always_ did!

"Manda! Eat the damn birdie!" yelled Ryû.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manda gave a cold glare to the annoying prat who dared order him. A nod from his caster made him leave. Hissing he glided away from Sasuke and once far enough took back his real size. He locked his eyes on his prey, a blond man on a white bird.

He struck immediately to keep the element of surprise as the man gasped upon seeing him. Yet the bird flied out of his mouth just in time. Manda went after it, diving, circling, pursuing his prey. When small things came his way he melted them with poison. He was lucky it didn't explode.

Beneath Manda and his prey, Ryû had started making the seal for his family jutsu. As he saw Deidara dive toward the ground, Ryû made the last sign and aimed at what would surely be Deidara's next location. Praying he wouldn't hit the snake, he screamed, "Haku matsuri no jutsu (white festival no jutsu)!"

As a white arrow his jutsu pierced the sky, passed right under Manda and reached its goal. Deidara suddenly felt, heard, and saw absolutely nothing. Had he been eaten? No. He was completely disoriented.

Struck by Ryû's attack Deidara didn't notice that he had fallen from his bird. That saved his life. Manda closed his teeth on the white volatile, cutting it in two and gulping it. It exploded. Manda hissed in pain. Fortunately his poison had melted it a little and the bird hadn't been made for exploding so it wasn't too powerful.

Ryû gasped as he saw what happened and Manda slowly fell.

"Take cover!" shouted Ibara as the huge Snake hit the water, sending a gigantic wave on all of them. Enemies and friends leaped in the air.

"Manda!" called out Sasuke.

"Become small!" yelled Silk to the snake just before he sank. Not waiting for the small tsunami to drive out she dove into the water. She was a rain, water was her ally.

Manda heard his caster and the girl yelling at him as he sank in the water. He wouldn't dispel and go back to his kind; he wanted to stay with his caster to help in the fight! As he felt his eyes close he saw Silk come toward him, she was following the water's movements, not fighting when she was pushed away. Soon she would reach him. With his last strength he changed his size, becoming as small as a viper. Silk grabbed him delicately and slid him inside her kimono.

She pushed with her feet and began to swim to the surface, coming out next to a tree top, where her team mates must have landed. Gently she laid the resting and unconscious snake on the tree. As soon as she had finished she was yanked backwards, ending in Ibara's arms as a kunai almost hit her.

Staring she saw that team 5 was now facing Kabuto. Worried she glanced around. Naruto was facing a very annoyed Deidara and Sasuke was still confronting Kisame.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto clapped his hands as Manda went after Deidara. The kids were doing a fine job! In front of him Kabuto was breathing heavily. The blond had succeeded at landing another blow on him. He was in bad shape. Naruto could already walk again; the Kyuubi had cured his severed tendon.

It was evident that Kabuto was only buying himself some time. Naruto hadn't even started really using the Kyuubi's power. The grey-haired man stood no chance. Naruto had reached the Akatsuki's level.

Yet when Manda collapsed on the water and created a small tsunami, Kabuto saw his chance. He would go for the kids. Naruto didn't try to stop him; he couldn't let his team face Deidara. Kabuto was less of a menace and with him being badly hurt, they had a better chance to survive.

And so Naruto faced the pissed off Deidara and team 5 inherited Kabuto. Kisame was still going for Sasuke.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke internally sighed in relief as Manda was brought back by Silk and gently laid on a treetop. Naruto locked his eyes with his for a second, and Sasuke nodded. Yes, team 5 couldn't be left to deal with Deidara. Sasuke had to admit he was quite impressed they had succeeded in taking the man down from his bird. They sure had grown up in the three months and a week since team 5 had been formed (he knew because Silk had brought little gifts to celebrate their three months). After all they had two senseis and not weak ones at that.

But maybe right now wasn't such a good time for reminiscing mused Sasuke as Kisame's sword barely missed his head. Sidestepping, he breathed fire on Kisame to gain time to think. Illusions were no use and let's face it Sasuke's muscular strength wasn't enough to seriously damage the man. Maybe he could use a derivation of the Mangekyô? Kakashi-sensei had taught him all he knew about his new eye like how to distort dimensions.

"Come on, Uchiha! Show me if you can hold a candle to Itachi!"

Sasuke jumped above Kisame, wrapping a steel bond around the man's throat. Kisame groaned, preventing himself from choking by putting a hand on his neck as the thread of steel tightened around his neck. Sasuke smirked and let chidori course through the thread. Just before he could seriously injure Kisame he had to dodge a water clone.

With one slash of his katana he destroyed the clone but another one appeared behind him. He had just enough time to see Kisame form the seals.

"Suiton! Suiron!"

As water engulfed him and trapped him in an aqueous prison, Sasuke closed his eyes to open them back with a different shape. Mangekyô Sharingan. The prison shattered and Sasuke could breathe again. However Kisame had used this small time to reach him.

Sasuke dodged the sword aimed at him, used it as a lever to gain momentum and plunged a kunai in Kisame's back. The raven winced as sharp teeth closed on his shoulder, almost ripping it off. He couldn't believe the man had bloody bit him!

Freeing himself he jumped backward as far as he could. Using Sakura's jutsu he stopped the blood flow. It was really handy. He had already shrank the slash on his stomach and leg and a cracked rib.

Eyeing Kisame, who had yanked the kunai out and was bandaging his wound, he was glad to see that the man wasn't whole either. Sasuke had burned to crisp the Akatsuki cloak and part of Kisame's right arm, yet not badly enough to prevent the man from using it. He had also plunged a katana in the shark's hip. The man was more than resistant.

"Sasuke-sensei!" screamed Ryû.

He and Naruto checked regularly on their team and last time they did they hadn't been in a life threatening situation. They weren't really brisk, they were covered in blood and cuts but they still managed. Giving a fast look behind him he saw the situation wasn't hopeless and that no one was on the verge of dying.

"What?" he snapped as he began to make the seals Kisame was doing for a water dragon.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose and sized up his new opponents. The blond one was sweating and shaking, he really seemed useless, but visibly he was the brain of the team. His jutsu had also made Deidara fall off his bird… seeing his state, the kid couldn't do another one. The other two were the less tired and despite their cuts seemed perfectly ready for the fight.

Ryû took support on Ibara. His jutsu had drained him, sending it in the sky had been very strenuous. That Kabuto man didn't seem in a really good shape either, Naruto-sensei had really broken the back of the work for them. It was feasible. _Don't put yourself in danger, sweet life._ Ryû shivered.

"Ryû?" asked Ibara.

_For no__ one. Your life isn't yours. _

"Are you going to be ok?" he insisted.

_You cannot die. __You promised you will stay with me forever. Don't protect anyone. _

"Hey, don't stress out. Silk and I will protect you, ok? Just use your brain," he whispered.

He was already in danger. If he wanted to survive he had to fight. He would help. He wasn't in mortal danger but he had to fight otherwise he would really die. And he would do all that was possible to help his team mates, even if he would be in the shadows because he couldn't risk his life. He would try to protect his team mates in his own way.

"Ok. No hand to hand combat," stated Ryû.

Silk and Ibara nodded. The man was still eyeing them; he seemed to be in the same category as Ryû. He thought and analysed before acting, well Ryû didn't act but that was beside the point.

"Bloody rain?" asked Ibara as Silk drew her katana.

Kabuto chose this moment to come on them. Ibara immediately dipped his fingers in his blood and rain poured on the man. That didn't stop him, they could see his skin melting and burning but it was already healing. Damn!

Ibara tried to step away but wasn't fast enough; he felt something cut at his shoulder and his arm fell lax on his side. A chakra scalpel. Before any more damage could be done, Kabuto snatched his hand away from Ibara as Silk's katana threatened to cut it off.

The grey haired man chuckled and attacked Silk, Ibara trying to cover her as much as he could. Silk screamed as her left wrist was rendered useless. Ibara tried his rain again, making it longer and only succeeded in slowing Kabuto down. Breathing heavily they looked at Ryû.

The latter was racking his mind. The rain wasn't concentrated enough to harm Kabuto, his regenerating capacity was too fast. They had to concentrate the power… but how? And then he saw Sasuke being imprisoned in a water bubble.

"Sasuke-sensei!" he screamed as soon as his teacher was out.

The latter glanced at him before concentrating on imitating the shark's seals. "What?" he asked crisply.

"Tell me the seals for the water prison, please," answered Ryû, throwing kunais and shurikens at Kabuto, directing them with steel threads as Sasuke-sensei did so often. Ryû groaned as Kabuto raced on him, Ibara and Silk immediately trying to stop him. Ryû simply started to run though not away, closing his eyes he jumped and Kabuto was suddenly sent a good distance away from them.

As soon as Ryû reached his team mates Sasuke-sensei began to tell him what signs to make. All the while fighting Kisame, at one moment his words were drowned by a tsunami coming right at him. Soon he was back to screaming to them how to do the jutsu.

"You have to concentrate the chakra on your hand," advised Naruto-sensei once Sasuke had finished speaking.

"Roger!" answered Ryû before turning toward his team mates, who had caught up with the plan.

Kabuto snickered and snorted at them. "What use is it to learn this? You might not be able to do it and I know what to expect!"

Ryû ignored the man, "Silk you know what to do."

"Hai. The bait," she said smiling.

"Ibara the seals are," started Ryû as Silk launched herself at Kabuto.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto felt the Kyuubi chakra course through his veins. He could feel claws gracing his palms, fangs brushing his lips, his eyes turning to slits. He was glad to be facing Deidara. He would make him pay for what he did to Gaara. He had been so angry to learn that the man wasn't dead. He wanted to make this organization suffer for what they did to the demon's holder. Now that he was getting closer to his complete happiness he wouldn't let them destroy it.

"Oh you again, hun. I see you made more friends. So strange. Really you're a lucky vessel, hun," pointed out Deidara, as his hands kneaded the clay.

Naruto growled. He knew he was sort of lucky, Gaara had undergone far much than him but now he had surpassed him, he had almost his whole village behind him. He had become Kazekage. He had proved it was possible. Cracking his knuckles, the blond made some clones and readied to dash on his opponent. He had to prevent him from taking off.

Deidara sent explosives as his other hand made another flying bird. He was a long range fighter and he wanted to keep the advantage. He glanced toward Kisame and Sasuke and sighed.

"I wanted to face Itachi's brother, hun! To have beaten him. Such a worthy opponent of my art, hun!"

"Shut up!" screamed Naruto, sending a Rasengan but missing as Deidara flew high in the sky.

"Uh oh tired of being only second compared to him, hun?" bantered the three tongues man, dropping a handful of charming little bombs.

Naruto huffed. It had been true. He had hated the way Sasuke drew everyone's attention. He had envied his strength. But now Sasuke had acknowledged him. Sasuke saw value in him and that was all he needed. Everyone wanted Sasuke but Sasuke wanted him. Period.

"Speaking of yourself? Let me guess, Itachi kicked your ass!" replied Naruto, using his clones as protection. Visibly hitting the bombs wasn't always enough to make them explode, the Akatsuki member was the one who decided when they blew up. He didn't really care; he just had to make his clones catch them. He was using a lot of energy but it's wasn't as if he really had a choice.

Seeing as Deidara's eyes grew wide with hatred, Naruto had hit a sensitive nerve. Maybe he should have kept quiet: he had to deal with tons of bombs, fast and vicious ones. Like Kakashi-sensei had said the first time they had fought against him, Naruto wasn't fit for this. Yet at that time he hadn't been as strong as he was now. He knew a friend who could help him deal with this situation.

As he parried more explosives, taking some straight in the face but healing right away, he heard Sasuke giving seals to Ryû. His lover would never think of explaining how it worked, the cocky bastard.

"You have to concentrate the chakra on your hand," advised Naruto.

He finished his seal and screamed, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" (Summoning no Jutsu)

Deidara knelt on his bird and peered at the ground where the Kyuubi vessel was bustling. He was snickering slightly when in a puff of smoke a huge frog appeared with a pipe in his mouth and a small sword at his side. The spiky haired blond wasn't as stupid as Deidara had thought.

"Yo Naruto, long time no see," greeted Bunta.

Naruto grinned pointing to Deidara. "We have to take him down. How high can you jump?"

"High enough to catch him. The question is will you be able to hold on?" retorted Bunta.

"Wanna bet?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow as the water dragon disappeared with his own; a tsunami was coming on him. Kisame had used the first attack to prevent him from copying the next one. He let the wave eat him and climbed the ridge sending shurikens through it, while screaming instructions to Ryû.

He stopped Kisame's sword just in time. This was starting to get on his nerves. Sasuke bent backward to escape the jaws and fell on his hands, sending snakes to snatch the sword out of the man's grasp. He then plunged a kunai in the shark's ankle as he dropped back on his feet. He grumbled as it seemed to barely disturb him. Did the man even feel pain?

"Itachi-san would be proud of you. Are you sure you don't want to join us?" asked Kisame plucking out the kunai.

"No," grunted Sasuke, nursing the cracked rib that had been strained by his last movement.

"Not even if it had been Itachi's wish?" taunted Kisame.

"It wasn't," snapped Sasuke, breathing fire on the man and jumping on him.

Kisame sunk into the water calling his Samaheda and cursed as Sasuke sent a chidori blade right at him, blocking the sword with his feet. The kid had found out how he worked. He punched the Uchiha, who ended kneeling on the water.

"I would be your partner. I would look after you, as I did for him," said Kisame something passing in his eyes.

Sasuke crooked an eyebrow, his brain processing the new information. Disbelievingly he asked, "you were Itachi's lover?"

Kisame grinned showing his teeth reddened by Sasuke's blood. "No, like you I will never know if he cared about me or not."

Sadness crossed Sasuke's eyes and he glanced at Naruto. Kisame followed the gaze, nodding in sudden understanding.

"I see. He's your lover, no need to insist then," shrugged Kisame launching on the Uchiha.

Sasuke let him come at him wanting to finish with this. Concentrating he let his pupils change form, the spinning comas becoming a shuriken. Mangekyô. He aimed a distortion attack at Kisame's throat but missed, only being able to twist Kisame's shoulder a good deal. Kisame punched Sasuke straight on the stomach, cracking his rib even more and throwing him into the water.

Sasuke sank, coughing blood and holding his chest in pain. As he punched the water to go back to the surface he saw five water sharks coming at him.

Kisame let his jutsu unfold and sent an extra bit of chakra before taking his hand out of the water. The sharks wouldn't be as efficient or hold as long as they would have if he had kept sending them chakra, but that would give him enough time for what he planned.

Sasuke was indeed Itachi's little brother. Kisame was weakening and felt his death coming. Two or three more rounds and Sasuke would kill him for sure. Before he would make him suffer; killing the brats would do it. He had to make them pay for their insults.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû explained to Ibara how he thought the jutsu worked as Ibara followed Kabuto's and Silk's movements, still keeping his distance from the fight.

Kabuto groaned. The girl wasn't bad with her katana, even if she couldn't use her left wrist. He could see Sasuke's training in her way of moving. He had a hard time understanding how her mind worked. She seemed to have no respect for her body and didn't hesitate to get hurt to land a blow on him. Yet she had a knack for only getting hurt on spots that wouldn't disturb her moves.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ibara starting to make the seals and huffed. As if he would fall for that. He could use the girl as a shield.

"Silk," ordered Ryû as he did something to Ibara's injured arm. Kabuto couldn't see what.

Silk suddenly stepped away to literally throw herself at him. He immediately stabbed her with his chakra scalpel missing her heart by a hair's breadth. He dodged her sword just in time and yelped as she grabbed him, trapping him in her embrace. What the hell? They wouldn't…

Ibara finished the seals and instead of using water used the blood from the vein Ryû had opened on his arm. "Now!" he screamed as he let the jutsu unfold and close on Kabuto.

"Seirei Kabe no jutsu (phantom wall)!" whispered Silk and she became intangible just as the bloody water filled her vision. She stepped away from Kabuto only hearing a deafening yell of horror and suffering.

Ryû immediately put a tourniquet on Ibara's arm to stop the bleeding and then bandaged the wound. Ibara, of course immune to his own power, released the jutsu and Kabuto, drenched in his own blood fell backwards on a tree top his members sinking into the water, coloring it red.

Ibara let Ryû drag him where Silk was resting. She had stumbled and sat on a branch of one of the few trees that weren't completely submerged in the water. Her feet rested in the water and she tried to breathe normally but only managed rasped gasps. Kabuto seemed to have severed something connected to her lungs.

"Silk?" wondered Ibara as Ryû came to examine her.

"I'm ok," muttered Silk, having to concentrate on breathing. She wouldn't be able to fight properly anymore. Ibara also seemed to be nearing his limit; he had lost a lot of blood and he could barely stand. This break in the battle was perfect to rest and gather what was left of their strength.

"Is he dead?" he asked leaning on another branch, a bit away from Silk to have his back resting on the trunk. They were lucky this tree was so big, they were tons of branches were they could rest.

"Dunno," answered Ryû, kneeling on the water, eyeing the… thing that was Kabuto. He wasn't healing, that was a good sign.

"How do we know?" murmured Silk as she had found a way to slow down and ease her breathing.

"Someone goes poke him?" supplied Ryû.

"No way!" answered Ibara, knowing full well Ryû wasn't going to be the one doing it.

Both boys turned their head as they heard Silk yelp. Something big was coming straight at her.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."

Bunta sure hadn't been joking about holding tight onto him! The frog king was awesome! They were quite far from the rest of the team now, which was good; Naruto wouldn't want them to end up crushed by Bunta.

They had already destroyed two flying birds but Deidara had managed to transform a lost wing into another flying device. He now flew high enough for Bunta to not be able to harm him. That gave them an advantage too. The bombs could be easily destroyed with a Suiton Renkuudan (water canon ball). And so they were stuck. Naruto was hoping Deidara would soon run out of clay.

"Kid, do you have a plan?" asked Bunta as Naruto checked to make sure that Sasuke and team 5 were still in one piece.

"I've got an idea. He thinks you can't catch him this high… but if we do a Combo Henge and you took a bird shape, we'll be able to catch him."

"Will you have enough chakra?" asked Bunta, scratching his head. He was a little worried because Naruto already had two tails. He was perfectly normal but… could he really hold?

"Yep, just a little help from my parasite," retorted Naruto, grinning as he used more of the Kyuubi's chakra. He knew this was dangerous but he had to finish it quickly to help his team, who were still fighting Kabuto. Even if Sasuke looked quite bad he believed in him… anyway Naruto mustn't look great either. Without Kyuubi he certainly would look even worse.

He had now three tails and he could hear Kyuubi laughing in his head, fighting with him for control. He felt his desire to destroy and his happiness at destruction. He was thrilled by this battle. Naruto shivered a little. The nine tail fox also loved when Naruto fought Sasuke, he loved having a worthy opponent. Naruto mentally joked that Kyuubi really approved of him being involved with the dark avenger.

"Combo Henge!" screamed Naruto and Bunta transformed into a beautiful phoenix.

Hey, Naruto had always been one for extravagant and garish stuff, so why not a phoenix? It had class!

Deidara cursed as he saw the transformation, he couldn't escape it. Already the loud-mouthed blond had landed on his bird. They were on hand to hand combat, he was going to lose. He couldn't use his C4 either because he wouldn't be able to escape it.

"I've got you! You're gonna pay for all you did!" screamed Naruto punching Deidara in the face, making him almost fall from his bird. Bunta dispelled before a bomb could reach him.

As he caught himself and climbed back on his bird, sending explosive caterpillars on Naruto, Deidara caught sight of something that could help him.

"You lost, hun. Seems like your lover's dead and your team's going to follow soon, hun," he said, smiling as he pointed behind Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto turned his head at this comment and his heart stopped beating. Sasuke was nowhere in sight but a skinned corpse rested in a tree… and Kisame was going after team 5. He didn't realize that Kabuto was nowhere in sight, that the corpse was closer to team 5 than to Kisame which meant Sasuke was still alive. His eyes narrowed to slits and one more chakra tail appeared as Deidara blocked his way to his team.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke dodged the first shark, leaped on the second one, and nearly got eaten by the third, the fourth and fifth blocked his exit. The raven winced, the water teeth had grazed his biceps and he was once again losing blood. A vein popped on his head. He didn't have time to waste with sharks. He didn't use Chidori Nagashi on Kisame knowing full well it couldn't work. This time however, it was perfect. He was going to Chidori Nagashi them all!

With a surge of power he took care of all the sharks in one row and kicked to the surface. He was expecting to have Kisame waiting to slaughter him. No one met him. The spinning comas in his eyes turned wild.

And then he saw what was happening not far from him. Bolting up he ran as fast as he could praying that he could get there on time.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk slipped from her branch and sank into the water, followed by Ryû and Ibara. They emerged just behind the shark man called Kisame. He had already turned, heavy sword resting on his still intact shoulder. Team 5 took a fighting stance.

"I'm going to shave you," grinned Kisame stepping toward them.

"There's nothing to shave on Ibara. He's bald! That's not fair!" pointed out Ryû as his team mate glared daggers at him.

"Ryû! This is not the time," he growled.

"And why are you attacking us?" Ryû waved toward Silk. "She's a genuine Itachi fan," he argued.

"Then let her rejoin him in death!" replied Kisame horizontally cutting the air with his sword.

Team 5 jumped up. Already Kisame was slashing at them this time in a vertical motion. Ibara and Ryû stepped aside from the blow but Silk couldn't move. She had her hands pressed on her chest as she was out of breath.

"Silk!" screamed Ibara. He couldn't catch her with his unusable arm.

Blood splashed everywhere and a shout of suffering could be heard. Time seemed to slow down, as a cascade of blood reddened the water. A body fell backwards and another scream rang out.

"Ryû!"

Silk caught her falling team mate, falling on her bottom as she did. He had jumped in front of her. He had protected her! So much blood… everywhere.

Ibara gasped as Ryû slid in front of Silk taking the blow on her place. Fortunately someone had grabbed Kisame's hand and lessened the blow. Sasuke had arrived just in time. However he hadn't had the strength to completely stop Kisame's blow. Kisame's eyes widened as two blades passed through him, Sasuke's and Silk's.

A smile grazed Kisame's lips. Silk snatched her katana out of Kisame at the same time as Sasuke and the man fell into the raven's arms. Slowly the shark-man untied his forehead protector and a necklace, slipping them into Sasuke's hand.

"Itachi," he coughed.

Sasuke nodded, tying the items around his belt. At that moment a surge of energy made the air blow around them and a thunderous sound could be heard. The water suddenly started lowering under their feet, sweeping them away in its current. Silk closed her arms around her fallen team mate, refusing to be apart from him and trying to minimize the damage as they hit trees. Finally they crashed against a tree trunk, bodies finally resting on the muddy ground. Ibara had fallen just beside them cradled next to Silk. Sasuke winced as Kisame's body pressed him against a tree, nearly knocking him out.

Silk finally looked at her team mate, tears rolling down her cheeks as she started to hiccup, she still couldn't breathe normally. His face and body were covered in blood and dirt, mud mixed in his hair and… his golden eyes… he had a long gash starting from his eyebrow, passing on one eye to end on his jaw and start again from his collarbone to the middle of his chest. It looked horrible, totally jagged.

"Hey… I must look even less brilliant now, covered in mud and blood..." coughed Ryû, looking at her with his only remaining and fading gold eye.

"Yes," murmured Silk, tightening her hold on him, Ryû smiled faintly at her. "You're sparkling," she finished, tears falling on the beaten face.

"Thanks," whispered Ryû, closing his eyes. _You mustn't protect anyone. You cannot die, precious life. Someone gave everything for you. Your life isn't yours._ Well it seemed like he had passed the gift to someone else.

"No! You're ugly and stupid and…"screamed Silk, shaking Ryû to make him wake up.

Ibara grabbed her shoulder, stopping her and he dropped his head against her, weeping. Sasuke knelt or more likely collapsed next to them, reaching to touch Ryû's pulse. A roar made him freeze. Silk and Ibara raised their heads and Sasuke turned, before them stood something looking like a giant fox with four tails, in his mouth they could distinguish the broken corpse of Deidara.

"Naruto…" whispered Sasuke, as the beast turned its blazing eyes toward them.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_"__Use me Naruto, show them our strength," offered Kyuubi as Naruto stood in front of his cell._

_"Sasuke… Sasuke…"__ cried Naruto, rubbing his eyes. _

_"You have to avenge you lover. Use me or you won't be__ able to save your precious team," whispered Kyuubi. _

_Naruto looked blankly __at the demon-fox. Water began to immerge him as he slowly steped towards the creature sealed in him. He needed power to make them pay, to destroy them all. He needed power to save Ibara, Ryû, and Silk._

_He passed the bars and let the fox close his paws on him. He would make them pay. _

_Kyuubi laughed as he took over Naruto. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke gulped. He had heard the stories from the time with Jiraya and the one with Orochimaru, but he had never seen Naruto on this form. His body looked like a huge fox, four chakra tails lashing in the air. The animal's fur was made of Naruto's blood and pure chakra.

Sasuke looked at the frightened children. He felt cold sweat run down his injured body. In his state he wouldn't be able to beat him. And he knew the thing was coming after them… this wasn't Naruto. This thing was only thinking of destroying everyone, friend or foes

"Ibara, Silk, take Ryû with you and run," he ordered standing up, leaning on a tree for support.

Silk let Ibara withdraw the motionless Ryû from her hold. She didn't want to leave, even if she couldn't fight with her lungs not working properly. She wasn't going to leave Sasuke-sensei alone here. She could see his exhaustion, how he had difficulty standing, the blood leaking from his wound and the dark-blue haematoma on his chest, where undoubtedly a rib had cracked.

"Now!" snapped Sasuke.

The fox had concentrated a ball of chakra in the air, raw energy letting a dark wind swirl around them. Soon it would attack them, and Sasuke believed he could survive one round, but certainly not another, especially not with children to protect.

Ibara took Ryû on his back. He should have been on his place… Ryû wasn't made for this sort of thing. Ibara had failed in protecting both of his team mates. Silk nudged him on the shoulder and caressed Ryû's arm, trying to smile. Ibara looked at the fox-like demon in front of them.

"Is that Naruto-sensei?" he asked, slightly startled. He suddenly understood why the villagers didn't seem to like Naruto and why Ryû's father was so defiant. It didn't take a genius to understand that this was the Kyuubi.

Sasuke shook his head and tensed as their opponent absorbed the ball of energy and suddenly grew as if exploding from the inside. The blow was coming.

"Clear off!" he growled. His eyes began to twitch as he felt a small hand grip what was left of his belt.

"I'm not leaving you here," stated Silk.

Ibara stared at her and motioned with his chin toward Ryû. If he wanted to save him, he had to bring him back to Konoha as fast as possible. He could leave Silk here, right? She was with Sasuke-sensei after all. Silk nodded her agreement.

Ibara had to do his best to save Ryû. She would stay here. No way was she letting someone else die. She cared too much about Sasuke-sensei… about Naruto too. If they had to die, she would die with them. Better not to be left behind, the loneliness hurt too much.

"I will take Ryû to Konoha. Silk stays with you," stated Ibara.

"You stubborn brats," sighed Sasuke. He couldn't reproach them what he would have done in their place. Anyway it was too late now; they wouldn't be able to run far enough. At least Ibara and Ryû would leave.

"Stay behind me for the first attack," he instructed.

Sasuke saw the ray of power come toward them. He knew Orochimaru's strongest protection hadn't worked against it. Yet he had more tricks up his sleeve. Plus he hadn't wanted to use his eyes too much … well at least he hadn't used the illusion that was the most dangerous for his eyes. He didn't have much of a choice anyway.

"Mangekyô!"

As the ray reached them a dimension opened and absorbed it all. Sasuke kneeled on the ground, taking support on one of his hands. Kyuubi was dashing on them, roaring. Ibara sprinted off after a last glance toward them. He noticed distractedly that the bandage and tourniquet Ryu had put on him had fallen off, he was loosing blood.

"Don't let it touch you. Try to buy me some time, but don't let him move away from me. I need to look into his eyes," asked Sasuke, concentrating. No need to call out Naruto's name, he wouldn't reach him. Naruto couldn't recognize them so he was going to drag the dobe back to the surface.

Silk looked around her and took all the stones she could. She didn't have any more kunais or shurikens, so this would have to do. She started throwing them at the Kyuubi, seeing them disintegrate before they even touched him. Yet their purpose was served, the Kyuubi stopped attacking Sasuke and tried to catch Silk instead with his paws.

Just before he could reach Silk, Sasuke plunged his sharingan eyes into the beast's ones. All motions stopped. Sasuke kneeling on the ground, head raised. Kyuubi, paws resting on the ground, immobile.

Silk sat, leaning against a tree trunk. She blinked her tears away. The only sound in the devastated forest was her ragged breathing. She would try to keep Sasuke-sensei company until the end.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_It wasn't like last time he had been there. __Everything was submerged in water and the Kyuubi wasn't sneaking his head out of his jail. Sasuke could see his huge form behind the bars. Where was Naruto? _

_"So you came, Uchiha. I see you followed my advice not to kill Naruto," came the low voice of Kyuubi, resonating __in the whole place, deafening. _

_Sasuke had contain__ed Kyuubi's strength once already, but Naruto had been here. Naruto hadn't been on the other side of the jail. Now it would be a different matter. _

_"Naruto! __Snap out of it you usuratonkatchi!" _

_Kyuubi __sneered, his nine tails lazily moving around him. _

_"He cannot hear__ you. Your chakra is still so impressive, yet he's lost in his darkness," remarked Kyuubi. _

_Sasuke's blood turned cold as tails __brushed against him. He didn't have time to waste here. With the force of his mind he made Kyuubi explod in a myriad of bubbles just like last time. But, Kyuubi had more liberties now with Naruto in his power. Soon he reformed himself, catching Sasuke with his tails. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk had divided all the parts of her clean clothes to make bandages. The thought occurred to her that not long before water had been everywhere and now she couldn't clean anything. Sighing gently she approached Sasuke's still and tense form. With her makeshift bandages she tried to dress up his wounds, so he wouldn't keep loosing blood. It wasn't her thing… usually Ryû was the one who did this. The cut on her left wrist wasn't really helping. That done, she swept away the sweat gathering on his forehead. She glanced at her other sensei, well… at the fox that had taken over his body.

Suddenly blood poured out of Sasuke's mouth. Silk yelped, trying to understand what was happening, with horror she noticed the dark-blue haematoma had grown; worse, the chest seemed to have taken another blow. The rib must have broken and perforated an organ! He had internal bleeding! But… she had been here the whole time.

Under her very eyes she saw five deep cuts appear on Sasuke's chest, as if he had just been clawed at. Blood was flowing freely. Desperately she tried to stop the hemorrhage with her hands, pressing as hard as she could against the wounds.

She was panicking and hyperventilating, and she couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe and there was so much blood! It was going to her head. What could she do?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Sasuke screamed in __pain when Kyuubi scratched his chest. He dropped in the water, vomiting blood his vision obscuring because of the pain of his broken rib. What was worse was that he knew that whatever happened to him here also happened to his real body. His mind and body were one. _

_"Such a pity to have to fight you when you're already half dead," sighed Kyuubi in a dejected tone. _

_Sasuke__ suddenly glimpsed a blond mane. There he was, at the bottom of the jail, wound into a ball. He had to reach him. Closing his eyes he let his body slowly fall until he touched the floor. Kyuubi was snorting; disgusted that the fight was such a pitiful one. _

_As the fox lazily delivered the last blow to the fallen Uhicha__, the latter bolted upright and threw himself into the jail, collapsing on Naruto's huddled up form._

_"Naruto!" he groaned. _

_The blond turned toward him, caressing his cheek lovingly, tears running__ down his face. He was sniffing pitifully. _

_"Sasuke… I'm so sorry I couldn't save you…"__ he apologized. _

_"I'm not dead__ yet! Kyuubi's killing me now, you moron!" exclaimed Sasuke, punching Naruto weakly as he collapsed on him. _

Naruto opened his eyes, his body burning. He heard a yelp and guessed it was Silk's. Turning his head he saw his lover, Silk next to him supporting him. All around him was destroyed, a sight of the apocalypse. What had he done? And it hurt so much… so much. His mind went blank.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Manda stirred, his regenerating capacities had worked. He only felt a slight burning sensation in his body. Memories assaulted his mind. His caster! Unfolding he peered around him, the water was gone. Taking back his real size he scanned the remainder of the forest and soon found his caster and comrades.

Heat was still radiating faintly from them, but it was faint. He lowered to them. Silk was pressing her hand to the large gashes on Sasuke's chest, while the latter was using the rest of his chakra to try to restore Naruto's skin that seemed to have melted. He patted Manda's head weakly and whispered, "Konoha."

The Snake king nodded. If he hurried he might still be able to save their lives. They were at their limit and any moment now they would black out. Smoothly he caught them all in his gigantic mouth and disappeared to Konoha.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(Collapses on her computer) Arggggg I'm dead! At last it's finished! It was such a long fight for me who loathes writing them. Naruto was the hardest one to write about. I don't have Kishimoto's imagination with the use of Bunshins. Sorry if you got bored along the way.

By the way, I'm not at home so I might not be able to update soon. And in August I will be working like hell so I will surely slow down on updates, sorry about that.

Please review!

Next chapter: Conflicts on a Water Drop


	10. Hospital

**Chapter ****10: Hospital **

Hugs and kisses to my awesome Beta! Thanks to my friend She-Who-has-no-name for her help with Japanese words.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

I'm back! After a long break here is the new chapter. Please forgive me for being this late.  
Next one might be late too because I'm sort of suffering from writer's block for this story. I changed the title because more events were supposed to happen in this chapter but like always, I ended up writing more than expected. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy the chapter!

And please review, it motivates me.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Konoha Hospital. The village prided itself in being different from others, more human, more loving. Yet, its hospital was no different from any other. The scent of disinfectant was everywhere but still not able to cover the unmistakable aroma of diseases, urine, defecation, decomposing flesh, dry and fresh blood and death. The smell of antiseptics was only added to all these odors, making them less prominent but heavier. The charged air weighed down on people, slowing them down, making them silent. Silence, a must in a hospital. Patients had to rest.

Certain people related hospitals with graveyards. The scent of flowers and incense was everywhere but was not able to cover the unmistakable aroma of decay and death. Those smells intimately mixed with freshly turned over earth and tears. The sadness that gushed out of the place, made it heavy and silent. Silence, a must in a cemetery. The dead had to rest in peace.

In both places concern tightened the heart of those who remained alive or unharmed. In one case people remained fixed, on the other, they were on the expectative. In both cases people wondered what would become of them, what life would be like without a loved one, or simply worried about death and when it would claim them.

In all the white of the hospital (a vain attempt to purify the souls of those who might die?) only those acquainted with the place could find their way in its maze. At the entrance chatting (relieved or worried) took place. In the following rooms medics and patients discussed what was to be done. Further down was the emergency room followed by the rooms for recovering patients. Here, a bald boy rested, anxious parents having left for the night. Not far a brown haired girl with mauve eyes was trying to sleep, her uneasy breathing keeping her awake, mind clouded by concern over her team, the closest thing she had to a family.

The farther away you got from the entrance, the less noisy it became and silence grew heavy. The medic-nins, busy even at night time, were a faint buzz of sound, but in the most secluded place of the hospital, rare were the medics present. It was where the badly injured had to rest, to heal… where everything was silent, and where when sound erupted in piercing alarm, it was a bad sign, the meaning that something bad was happening.

The less sound, the direr the situation. In a sterile room rested a blond boy, his face and chest covered in bandages. He was as white as the sheets covering him. In another room, rested a dark-haired man, sweat covered his face. His porcelain skin had the color of poisoned people and most of his body was wrapped in gauzes. A snake kept watch over him.

Even farther, at the very end of the hospital, in an isolated and high security room, a patched-up blond man with whisked cheeks paced angrily despite his injuries. Worry, disgust, and irritation chewed his mind.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Several blue water lilies, picked on different days, rested in a small pond; the only color in all the whiteness apart from the still unconscious dark-haired man. A week had passed and still the Kyuubi's poison ran through Sasuke's veins, slowing down his healing process.

He had white bandages covering his chest, arms and legs, a white robe covered him as if the whiteness was trying to assimilate him, to make him a part of the hospital. Slight traces of blood attempted to break the monotony, as if Sasuke was fighting the white even though his skin was paler than usual. Sharp cheekbones were rendered even more prominent by the darkness of his hair, sticking to his face because of the sweat.

The Uchiha began to trash wildly despite the sedatives he was under, convulsing and screaming silently; even when sick no sound went past his lips if he wasn't feeling completely secure. Sasuke snapped his eyes open, looking wildly around him and felt panic grip him.

"Naruto," he called in a raspy voice. He felt so weak, feverish… and where was he? Where were Naruto and the kids? It was all so white… a hospital? A lab? The scent of disease and antiseptic was dull but present. He hated this place, wherever it was. Shaking he tried to stand up but something was keeping his body on the bed. He began to struggle madly and felt a blazing pain in his chest, yet didn't stop. Until…

"Shhhh don't stand, everyone's ok," whispered the familiar voice of Manda as his head nudged his chin gently.

Sasuke calmed down. Konoha. Konoha's hospital, he remembered ending up here. What had happened? How and where was Naruto? Silk? She was in a bad shape. Ibara and Ryû too were badly hurt. He felt so weak; his head was spinning even as he laid down. So hot and cold at the same time, he couldn't focus his vision either. He was weak, dizzy, and in danger. He felt his heart beat increase.

Manda feeling the panic coming back to his caster, rested his head near his ear and hissed soothingly. Sasuke's eyes kept an erratic movement for some time before his eyelids started to fall even as he fought to stay awake. Finally he went limp, twitching slightly from time to time. As soon as Manda felt that Sasuke was once again deeply asleep he loosened his hold on him, he had wrapped his body around his caster to keep him in bed. Every three hours the man would have a crisis, not always waking. Manda made sure he didn't fall or leave and reassured him. Sasuke wouldn't go back to sleep if the snake didn't tell him that everyone was ok, it was as if he didn't remember. This time however, the crisis had been different, he had seemed really conscious.

Manda grabbed the fallen clothes in his jaw, dripped it in the water next to the bed, and put it back on Sasuke's burning forehead. He rested his head on the crook of Sasuke's neck and tried to drift to sleep.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Ibara __dragged himself through the forest. He was limping a little because of his charge but he kept going. He had to save his team mate. He was getting closer, the streets were more familiar and he could hear the whispers of the city. He stumbled on a tree root and felt someone catch him before he could meet the floor. He was so tired… and Ryû was so heavy and cold. _

_"Ibara?" asked a familiar voice. _

_Blinking, Ibara tried to concentrate. He had to warn them about what was happening. _

_"Kakashi-sensei… Ryû's hurt… Akatsuki attacked… Kyuubi…" he mumbled before passing out from blood loss. _

_Kakashi immediately called his dogs, sending some to Konoha to warn the healer and the other__s to look for his former students and team 5's lacking member. Carrying Ibara and Ryû he hurried toward Konoha's hospital, praying to make it in time. _

_Shizune was waiting for him, a team of medic-nins with her. They checked Ibara and took care of his arm. He had lost far too much blood but they couldn't give him a transfusion since his cursed blood wasn't compatible with any other. Fortunately his life didn't seem to be in danger, once all his injuries were patched up, some rest should be enough. The problem was Ryû. Shizune swore when she saw his state and disappeared with him in one of the emergency rooms, asking someone to warn Tsunade-sama. _

_Kakashi was worried sick, if their student__s were in this state… how bad were Sasuke and Naruto? His dogs weren't back yet… Ibara had mentioned the Kyuubi, had Naruto lost his mind? As he was pacing up and down Manda materialized in a puff of smoke. He dropped Sasuke, Naruto and Silk before taking a smaller form, wrapping around his charge, ready to strike if needed. _

_"Kakashi-sensei!" exclaimed Silk, but her voice was hoarse and she collapsed on her knees, pressing her hands on her chest. Behind her, a bloody and pale Sasuke was trying to tend to… Kakashi's blood ran cold. Was that Naruto? He was a mass of blood and burnt skin._

_"Oh my God! Naruto!__ Sasuke!" screamed Sakura who had just arrived with Tsunade. She dashed toward them, ready to heal but Sasuke threw himself in front of Naruto. _

_"No! Don't touch him!" he snapped, eyes wild. _

_"But," started Sakura stepping toward the injured men. She froze as a trembling blade came under her throat. Slowly she turned her eyes to see Silk, back on her feet and trembling from head to toes. _

_"He said he didn't want you near," she whispered in her raspy voice. _

_"Silly__, I'm their team mate!" retorted Sakura, knocking the katana away as she took another step. This time her path was blocked by Manda._

_"This is stupid!" screamed Sakura, angry beyond belief. _

_"You lost his trust," __mentioned Tsunade, bowing to the snake before passing him, staring at the Uchiha who was holding Naruto protectively. She sized him up. Visibly the dark-haired man was barely conscious. Blood kept trickling from his mouth, he had internal injuries. A purple haematoma stood out on his chest, he surely had a broken rib. Maybe that was the cause of the internal bleeding. Three long slashes run up his chest, visibly made my claws. Tsunade shivered, it must have been the Kyuubi's doing. Other concerning injuries littered his body meaning that he had lost too much blood, which would explain the whiteness of his skin. But nothing explained the disorganized movement of his eyes and the sweat covering his body, did he have a fever and why? _

_Her eyes fell on Naruto and she knelt, asking permission with a glance, before concentrating her chakra to cure him. He was in a bad state, he had suffered a lot before turning into the Kyuubi and yet his body was already regenerating, the Uchiha was a bigger concern. _

_"__I will take care of him personally. He's like a son to me. Can Sakura take care of you? I will check her work later on," asked Tsunade ignoring the outraged protest of her student. _

_Sasuke let go of Naruto and staggered to__wards Sakura. As he reached her, he glanced at Kakashi who had prevented Silk to interfere further, her eyes were fluttering shut but she stood her ground._

_"It's fine, Silk. Kakashi," said Sasuke and his former teacher nodded, his eye smiling. _

_"I will watch over your team__," he answered, pushing Silk toward a medic to prove his point. Sasuke let himself be dragged by Sakura to a resting room, Manda hot on his heels. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara looked out of his window. He was going nuts. It had already been one week of staying in bed, forbidden to stand up and advised to sleep and sleep, to change, and to sleep some more. Great. He had to stay in bed until his blood levels were back to normal and his injuries were completely cured.

The only welcomed thing that broke his routine of trying to sleep was Silk. She had left the hospital three days ago. Once her lungs and tendons had been tended to, they had kept her one day in observation and then let her free. She still wore some bandages but it was nothing serious. Everyday she would visit and peel fruit for him. She would also bring water lilies.

The other disturbance to his rest was his mother. She had made a fuss when she learned what had happened. She came three times a day to crush her son against her and make sure he ate his vegetables. Ibara had begged the nurses to forbid her to come, but to no avail. Worse, the nurses were now calling him egg too. Sometimes Ibara really hated his life.

He might have been able to stay calm and rest if he had had news of the rest of his team. Apart from Silk the only thing he knew about the others was, "they are fine, don't worry and focus on healing." Ibara was young but when a grown up said that, he knew it really meant, "for the moment they are alive but in a worrying state. We shouldn't tell the kid, he might worry blah, blah, blah."

Being kept in the dark but knowing something was wrong worried Ibara. He was kind of picturing horrible scenarios too. Like Ryû being in a wheelchair because his brain had been damaged. Naruto-sensei staying in Kyuubi form locked in a room and roaring. Sasuke-sensei on the verge of madness and death, body irremediably dismembered by his own lover. So much for preventing him from worrying.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk had decided that she would change her routine a little today. Usually she would see Ibara first trying to appease him and cure some of his boredom. Then she would put a flower in Sasuke-sensei's bedroom and peel a fruit for Manda. She couldn't see Ryû, only his family could since he was still very weak. Silk had never seen anyone come. She couldn't see Naruto-sensei either, but she didn't know why.

This time she would start with Sasuke-sensei because today Ibara had gotten permission to walk around a little with her. Holding her basket full of fruits and water lilies she made her way to the end of the hospital where the Uchiha heir's room was. She knew Ryû's and Naruto's rooms should be near too. Curiosity and concern were slowly crumbling her resolve to abide by the rules. Silk shook her head as she saw Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei in the waiting room to the director's office.

Kakashi sighed as Iruka went back to pacing up and down, occasionally scratching his nose in anguish before going back to ranting, making sweeping movements. He was so different from the collected and nice teacher students were used to.

"How dare they? I mean it's not as if he is dangerous!" he grumbled, his cheeks flushing in anger.

"You know them," replied Kakashi before stopping abruptly as Silk entered the room.

"Morning Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei," she greeted, "do you have news of Naruto-sensei or Ryû?"

"No, sorry," replied Kakashi.

Silk turned to Iruka and sighed, he was scratching his nose, which meant that it was a lie. Why grownups never told children anything was beyond her. Even with Sasuke-sensei they hadn't wanted her to know what was happening. She had had to ask Manda to understand that her sensei had been poisoned by the Kyuubi's chakra and that it was slowing down his healing. Even the great Tsunade hadn't been able to find a cure for the poison.

Shrugging at having been once again kept in the dark she made her way to Sasuke's room and froze dead as she opened the door.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

At the very far end of Konoha's hospital there was a room. Few knew of its existence. Many passed past it often and yet didn't see it. The front wall and the door were made of glass, through which you couldn't see for it was protected by a powerful seal. Only people who had learned the jutsu could know of the room's existence and see what was inside it. Myriads of seals covered the walls, preventing its occupants from escape or from using any kind of jutsu. They were stuck on the walls and roof, even forming a garland from side to side, some dangling carelessly. On the floor like a carefully designed spider web dark writing swirled. It might have been beautiful to the neophyte eyes but in reality it was dreadful for it was a confinement room used for very dangerous affairs. Once inside you had little chance to get out.

On the left corner there were a small sink and a toilet. In the middle was a futon with covers. That was all the room contained. On the futon a blond man was resting, blue eyes wide open and looking at the door, he could see those who couldn't see him. Was it a way to crush the prisoner's hopes? To see people passing by and not being able to talk to them, being nonexistent to them? Like a ghost.

Naruto was used to this. It had always been like that, people acting as if he didn't exist or worse, whispering terrible words. He gazed at the two anbus leaning against his prison. They were able to see him but they had been chosen carefully, they hated him. When they acknowledged him it was only to send cruel jests. But that wasn't much of a change either, right? Nor was their disgust and badly hidden fear of him.

Tsunade had been so angry to be forced to imprison him but she had had no choice. However, the council had agreed that it would only be temporary, until they were sure Naruto wasn't a threat. As if. Naruto had long lost all hope of changing those dick-heads' opinion, well before being Hokage, because afterwards he would prove to them all who he was.

But… his certainty was crumbling. Maybe they were right. Naruto glided his hands through his hair, working them through it as if doing so would help him think better. He had almost killed his lover and his team. He had listened to the fox and let him take over, he hadn't been conscious of what was happening. He knew that. He had known he wouldn't be conscious, wouldn't see, wouldn't be able to stop the Kyuubi. Yet, he had chosen to let him take over.

"Yeah I wonder how he got himself such a pretty ass," whispered one of the Anbus.

Naruto sighed and buried his head in his pillow. He wondered if they knew he could hear them and did it on purpose. Their words were haunting him.

"Yeah I bet the Uchiha is only keeping an eye on him. You can't let a demon loose like that."

"After all he's an Anbu captain."

He closed his eyes, listening with one distracted ear to the rambling outside. He knew it wasn't true, Sasuke wasn't spying on him but hearing those things hurt him.

"Fortunately he was here to stop the demon, everyone could have been killed. Three children, you realize? To let a monster teach children!"

Naruto wondered how his team was; he had had news from Tsunade some time ago and then nothing. He had no visits, just those assholes piercing his heart with their words.

"Such a pity, a wild cutie like him. If I was higher ranked I would try my luck."

"For the moment he's stuck with the demon."

"Not for long."

Naruto groaned. They really didn't know whom they were speaking of. Sasuke would despise them.

"He nearly died. I'm sure he's going to ditch him soon, and then I might try to worm my way in his pants."

Naruto growled. He was so jealous. He wanted to make them eat their words. Sasuke was _his_. Yet… his foolishness had nearly killed him. Everyone had been put in mortal danger. How would the kids react to him now? Would Sasuke still want him? He wasn't the demon but he wasn't reliable either. All was so uncertain now. The only thing he knew for sure was that he couldn't live without Sasuke.

Closing his eyes as tightly as he could, he tuned the discussion out, trying to hold on to his memories. Sasuke giving him the Hokage dress. He then shivered as he remembered Sasuke arching underneath him, his breathless voice, his fiery eyes, the way he clung to him as they made love. He was the one who owned the raven. On those nice thoughts, Naruto drifted to sleep.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk closed the door behind her shiftily and let her anguish finally show. Leaning on the hard wood she took her head in her hands. Ibara who had straightened up, felt a pang of worry. Already his insides were clenching.

"What?" he asked hastily.

"Sasuke-sensei disappeared!" whispered Silk, peering between her fingers.

"You said he was feverish and delusional, he can't…" tried to argue Ibara, already sliding his legs out of the bed.

Silk shook her head, looking around her as if someone was going to enter and accuse them.

"He's not in his room, nor is Manda. I closed the door behind me so the nurses won't find out too soon… what should we do?"

Ibara seemed to ponder the question. He had the right to walk today. Silk hadn't warned the medic-nin because Sasuke-sensei would be in trouble; you didn't need to be a genius to understand he had gone to Naruto-sensei.

"Listen, I know we're supposed to behave, that we are too young and all the crap but… how about going to find him? I mean we have to drag him back to his room… and we will finally know what happened to Naruto-sensei and Ryû. I mean… we have the right to know, they are our team and…"

"Ok," cut Silk before Ibara could continue making excuses.

She wanted as much as him to find out about their team mates and Sensei. Tying a small bell to the door she settled on Ibara's bed and they began to whisper a plan. The exaltation of finally finding out what was going on was mixed with the fear of getting caught and the newly found action. They had missed it.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto was feeling wonderful. His muscles were lax and warm. It was odd, this room wasn't supposed to be comfortable. As he slowly realized that he was waking up he decided to keep his eyes closed to try to conserve the awesome feeling. He knew that it was a delay to better jump but he wanted to delude himself. A heavy but comfortable weight rested on him. Something heavier than a blanket was on top of him. Had he been tied up during his sleep? Was it another jutsu to restrain his movements? But it wasn't unpleasant at all, it was something that seemed familiar and at the same time unfamiliar. It kept him warm. A cool breath tickled his neck rhythmically. Wait. Carefully the blond half-opened one eye to meet a mop of silky dark hair. He glanced at the ceiling, nope, he was still in the confinement room. Was he dreaming? Gently he ran his hand on Sasuke's bangs and chuckled as he heard an indistinct grunt as his lover moved slightly away. Yep, that was the real one.

Now wide awake he stared at the dark hair. What the hell was Sasuke doing here? It was so… strange. His lover had buried his nose in his neck, hair raining on his face, hiding it, arms abandoned on the blonde's side, legs entangled. Naruto was completely trapped under him. Usually _he_ was the one to do the cuddling, not the other way around! Sasuke's body was hot against his skin, a little too hot.

Brushing away some hair, he peered at his lover's face, he was a little flushed. He touched his forehead, he was burning. A lazy grin settled on his features. He was one lucky bastard. Naruto couldn't help but feel incredibly fortunate. He was a demon holder, he had lost control and hurt his lover very badly and obviously given him a high fever and yet, here was the injured man, snuggled up against him, sleeping peacefully, trusting. Naruto wrapped his arms around the dark haired beauty and drifted back to sleep, vaguely wondering how Sasuke had entered… he guessed the two anbus were knocked out outside.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Oh my God, it's so hard to walk after such a long time. Maybe I should go where there's less people, so I won't stumble… besides I'm soooo ashamed of being handicapped like this," loudly whined Ibara with many quivers in his voice, arms and legs shaking a little too much.

Silk cringed inwardly. Ibara really wasn't a good actor, worse, he sounded _exactly_ like Ryû. They were so getting caught! She tried to make him less obvious but only succeed at making him act even more badly. Worriedly she looked around; the nurses were all looking at them. She gulped.

Suddenly Ibara dropped an arm on her shoulder, moaning pitifully, making faces that were supposed to convey pain. Key word: supposed.

"Come, Silk, let's walk in a less crowded place," he asked loudly while leaning on her as if he had just suffered a mortal blow.

Silk turned tomato red both from embarrassment and shame at being so evident, she was certain that they had been found out already. It was just a question of time before someone would prevent them from wandering to the farthest corner. She looked worriedly behind her and blinked. The medic-nins were smiling fondly, whispering between them while nodding toward them.

"They are so cute together. Egg is so sweet trying to look badly injured to catch her attention."

"Isn't it sweet she's blushing like that and that she is so nervous? Such an adorable girl."

Silk couldn't believe her ears. They thought they were in love with each other? She wondered if Ibara was a genius who had planned the whole 'he's trying to get her attention' thing or if they had just been lucky. Anyway that didn't matter; they had succeeded on the first part of the plan. Now, they had to find Sasuke-sensei and Ryû. She turned to Ibara, once again his usual self. He was peering in a corridor, he beckoned her.

"The way's clear, let's go," he whispered.

Silk moved forward. She hadn't taken one step when Ibara bypassed her.

"I'm going first," stated Ibara, brushing her shoulder in apology.

It was a little unusual; she was used to being asked to go first. Ibara was a gentlemen who always followed the 'women first' rule and Ryû was a coward who used her as a shield. A pang of guilt hit her as she thought of how Ryû had jumped in front of her. Suddenly she was seeing all the blood, feeling it drench her. Shiftily she saw grey eyes behind glasses widening in horror as horrible screams ringed in her head then her sword going through a blue skinned man. She closed her eyes tightly, until now she had always put it all on the back of her mind; too busy worrying about her team. She swallowed it all once again and concentrated back on their unofficial mission.

Hiding and sneaking, they were visiting all the rooms. Silk used her power more than once to peer in locked rooms. Ibara was guiding her, looking around and making sure they weren't caught. As they hid from a medic, Silk let her mind wander as she gazed at the broad back before her, shielding her. She was used to seeing Ibara's back, he always took care of her, protected her, as he did with Ryû. As _they_ did with Ryû. Silk had always been proud of her usefulness; no one could say she stayed behind, on the contrary. It was simple; Ibara and her were the frontline. Ibara watched over her since she was a little too careless with her life. She was the attacking strength, Ibara the protecting one. Ryû was the brain and the one healing.

It hadn't been his place. Never should she have seen _his _back. A broad, strong, straight, and confident back was usual… she still remembered the smaller back, the crouched shoulders, the shake in the body… it shouldn't have been him. And they knew nothing of his state, _nothing_. Was he even conscious? A warm hand snapped her back to reality. Ibara motioned her to a room. Once again it wasn't the good one.

"Let's stay here a little," requested Ibara.

"Are you tired?" worried Silk, knowing he shouldn't be this active.

Ibara shook his head and turned his back to her. This was unusual. As she opened her mouth to ask, he dashed for the exit and she followed him. Now wasn't the moment to talk.

Finally after who knows how much time, they found something interesting. Two Anbu were on the floor, visibly unconscious. Wrapped around them was Manda, yawning and staring at a wall.

"I wondered if you would come looking for him," he hissed to Silk.

"Manda-sama! Do you know where Sasuke-sensei is?"

The snake glanced to the wall, Ibara and Silk followed his gaze startled. There was nothing.

"Try going through," requested Ibara.

Concentrating Silk became intangible and tentatively put a hand on the wall. Nothing happened, she couldn't go through it.

"A containment room?" wondered Ibara out loud, tentatively poking the wall, trying to find where the jutsu started. Biting a finger he put some blood on the wall and stared speechless as it was absorbed.

"This isn't at our level at all. Manda-sama do you know how Sasuke-sensei managed to enter?" interrogated Silk.

"You wouldn't be able to do it, girl," answered the Snake, ignoring her and tightening his hold on his prey, hissing as a small crack was heard. Visibly Manda loved torturing his prisoner, only Sasuke-sensei found favor in his eyes.

Ibara shivered as he heard the cracking of bones, he wouldn't want to be in the Anbus' place when they woke up. Scratching at his arms littered with scars, he wondered how they were going to pass to the other side of the… cell? Because it was a cell, wasn't it? And if Sasuke-sensei was inside, it meant Naruto-sensei had been imprisoned. It wasn't difficult to guess why. Had they, at least, cured him? He could understand the fear, he had heard the stories… but he knew his sensei wasn't a demon. If he had let it loose, it was surely the Akatsuki's fault, or he had thought it would help them. He was sure it was all an error. Naruto-sensei wouldn't hurt them or Sasuke-sensei for all the gold in the world.

"Manda-sama?" called Silk, sweetly.

Ibara glanced at her, wondering what she was up to. They hadn't the strength to enter the room and Manda wasn't one to help… maybe he couldn't enter either for all they knew. Silence greeted her words; visibly he wasn't in the mood to help them. Ibara's brows shot to the top of his head as he saw Silk kneeling in front of the snake, then they knotted in a deep frown as he thought a woman shouldn't do that.

"Manda-sama, such an awesome and strong snake like you, a King like you," continued Silk, Manda slightly turning his head toward her, straightening at her praises, "must be able to help us, right?"

"Surely," hissed the snake, hovering above her, "but why would I help scum like you?"

"To show us your power. Not that we doubt it one bit. And because we are here to prevent Sasuke-sama from having trouble," she pointed out.

Ibara smiled inwardly. It looked like Ryû was rubbing off on them… such manipulative techniques. One more push and they would have Manda helping them if he could.

"I highly doubt Sasuke wasn't aware of his situation," replied Manda, coldly, fangs starting to show as he took insult on Sasuke's place.

"Of course, but he's feverish and he thinks like you do," Manda licked its lips, staring at Silk "like a king, a proud and fair king."

"And?" he asked mockingly, not seeing her point.

"And so, sometimes, he can't imagine how scum thinks, they will think he's trying to help Naruto-sensei escape, that's he's rebelling against Konoha," answered Silk, not believing her words but knowing they would work. After all it wasn't impossible that they were true… which was sad. Ryû's father crossed her mind.

Manda let go of his prey and wrapped around both of them, Ibara stiffening at the motion.

"Fine, I will help you. Don't think I didn't see through your praises, girl, but you are his students and I suppose he would want to see you," stated Manda.

In the blink of an eye they disappeared and reappeared inside the room. A little groggy they stepped out of Manda's embrace and looked around, amazed at all the seals. Then their gaze fell on the bed in the middle of all the jutsus. Naruto-sensei and Sasuke-sensei were sleeping peacefully, entwined.

Silk and Ibara looked at each other startled. Naruto-sensei seemed perfectly fine and could they really wake them up to warn Sasuke he wasn't supposed to be there? He knew it for sure. Silk walked softly next to them and put a water lily on the floor next to Sasuke-sensei and another one next to Naruto-sensei. She looked relieved to see them well.

Ibara slid to the floor, Naruto-sensei was imprisoned but fine. Konoha wasn't unfair, things should go rather smoothly. They couldn't do anything, they had known it… They had just wanted to be reassured. Only that. Now they would have to find Ryû, and at last, they would be able to sleep peacefully, well at least they would stop imagining things.

"We should leave," whispered Ibara smiling apologetically at Manda for all the trouble.

"I'm glad you're well," whispered Silk, rising, "please be fine…" she added in an afterthought.

As she left their side she turned sharply, blinking. She would have sworn she had heard Sasuke-sensei whisper a number.

"Silk?" asked Ibara, tugging at her kimono as Manda wrapped around them. Silk had her eyes riveted on Sasuke's sleeping form.

"… 229..." she said pensively turning to Ibara.

"Pardon?"

"… 229" she repeated, turning toward Sasuke once more, "I think I heard… 229. I… I'm sure of it. It must be Ryû's chamber."

"How?" began Ibara.

"Sasuke-sensei just grumbled the number," replied Silk as they disappeared.

Too caught in their discussion they didn't see Sasuke sleepily motioning to Manda to stay with them, Manda sighed mentally. Once again he would play baby-sitter… really, what a life.

-**Warning**: contains a lemon-

Naruto growled as he felt his lover shift, waking him up. He snaked an arm around his waist and turned in the bed, trapping Sasuke under him. The blond nuzzled his head in the soft nest of dark hairs and was ready to go back to sleep, but that was not counting on Sasuke. The latter began to struggle a little, only succeeding at making Naruto tighten his hold on him, so he started kicking the blonde's legs and finally literally shoved him off, Naruto rolled on the floor.

Startled, one foot entangled in the sheet and still on the futon, the rest of his body sprawled off of it, hair tousled (not that it was particularly flagrant…), Naruto glared at his still sleeping bastard. Muttering he climbed back on the futon, nudging the spread out Sasuke so he could have some space. With indistinct grunts Sasuke obliged millimeter by millimeter, earning poke after poke. Finally Naruto nuzzled back against Sasuke only to receive a hand in the face, pushing him away.

"You're too hot," snapped Sasuke, rolling on his side.

Naruto grinned, "Is that a compliment?" he purred, resting above Sasuke, his arms on either side of his head.

One dark eye opened at the comment to glare before fluttering shut once again. But Naruto was long used to the death glares of his lover; he even knew how to interpret them. This one had been slightly amused.

"I'm making you hot, aren't I?" he asked this time pressing his lips against the shell of his ear, tongue poking out to brush against it.

Sasuke suppressed a shiver and snorted, turning on his back, a discreet smirk playing on his parted lips. Naruto's grin widened as he ogled his lover, cheeks reddened by the fever, dark hair cascading around him, legs subtly spread, head tilted as if beckoning. It was an invitation; Sasuke was ever so subtle when he was asking for it. He would never make the first move, only hint, Naruto always had to decipher the signs. He loved this game.

Chuckling evilly and silently Naruto left the futon, eyeing Sasuke as he huddled up on the bed, probably frustrated. Naruto scanned the room for what he needed and noticed the water lilies. When he came back he noted that one of Sasuke's sleeves had slid down, letting the curve of a pale shoulder show. Sasuke's knees were bent, giving Naruto an eyeful of his lover's perfect ass. It seemed that the raven was pretty motivated.

Naruto knelt on the bed, looking at the stubbornly shut eyes of his lover. The bastard never admitted his invitations. Holding what he had taken in the room in his right hand; Naruto captured Sasuke's lips and trailed his hand swiftly from neck to hips, under the thin yukata. Sasuke's eyes snapped open as a deep moan escaped his lips, his body shivering.

Grabbing Naruto's hand that still rested on his hip, Sasuke pinned Naruto with his eyes before lifting it by the wrist to see what had given him so much pleasure. Between the tanned fingers was some ice wrapped in a cloth thin enough to let the cold spread and thick enough not to burn.

Braving the onyx eyes, Naruto let the cloth glide on Sasuke's wrist feeling the shiver it produced as the Uchiha let his hold go limp, arm falling languidly, eyes half-closing. He needed nothing more. Leaning against his lover, he trailed the ice on Sasuke's neck following the shakes it generated, sliding on the collar bone, feeling the quiver of the breast, brushing a nipple than hardened on his wake, all the way pushing the yukata until it was lying on the bed, only restrained by Sasuke's wrist. The latter's breath had quickened and as Naruto's lips closed on the bit of firm flesh, while the cloth caressed his stomach, Sasuke moaned, sliding a hand in the blond mane.

Tracing Sasuke's side Naruto graced the hips once again, to finally tease the ass. All the time he looked at his lover's expression, relishing in the fluttering of his eyes, the breathlessness of his respiration, the trembling of his body. Changing the cloth to his other hand, he tugged at the briefs, taking them off as he used the ice to brush the thigh, the hollow of the knees, while a finger tentatively entered his lover. Sasuke stifled a sound of bliss that soon blossomed into a full one that escaped his lips to die strangled in hurt as he arched his back. Naruto bolted up as he saw what happened: the hurt flashed in his lover's eyes, the tensing of his body, the blood dropping from his bitten lips.

"Sasu-" began Naruto worriedly but Sasuke gripped his nape and pulled him into a kiss, Naruto fleeing it to look at him.

"Just my ribs," reassured Sasuke.

Naruto grunted, pulling away, anger building inside him. He had known Sasuke was injured but hadn't paid attention, and why hadn't Sasuke told him? He was so angry at himself and he knew, he just knew that it was all his fault that Sasuke wasn't fully recovered yet. It had to be because of the Kyuubi's poison that the medic-nins hadn't been able to speed up the healing process.

Naruto felt a poke on his torso and the next thing he knew he had Sasuke on his lap, arms loosely wrapped around his neck. A seductive smirk was all his indication before Sasuke began to rock slowly, fingers tangling strands of hair before releasing it and taking another one.

"Frowning doesn't suit you," he all but purred.

"B-but Sasuke you're sick!"

"Oh," replied Sasuke giving him pecks on the lips then on his jaw line, "take advantage of it then?"

Naruto grabbed with one hand the tempting ass, squeezing and pulling them closer, earning a deep moan from his lover. A moan he wouldn't have heard if Sasuke wasn't bent on making him lose all reason until he was pounding him wildly into the mattress. And the bastard was damn good at making him lose it. Naruto was currently wondering why he wasn't throwing the raven's legs over his shoulder, slamming him against the futon, gripping his wrists and forcing him to meet each of his thrusts. He would so enjoy seeing him arching and trashing under him… right. Injured.

Naruto, using all his self control, stopped moving and closed his eyes to block the arousing sight of his lover on his lap. He groaned out, "I don't want to be an inconsiderate lover."

Sasuke grabbed his hand, still holding the cloth with the ice and put it on his lower back, shivering at the contact, head tilting as he parted his lips, breathing heavily.

"It's a _sick and injured_ man's request then," replied the Uchiha, hands firmly on Naruto's shoulders as he kept rocking gently. "It would be very _inconsiderate_ not to fulfil it," he growled.

Naruto opened his mouth to protest but all sound died as Sasuke pressed his lips against his ear and whispered, "take me."

He couldn't say no to that. "Don't arch," he murmured and moved the ice up Sasuke's back, following his spine. The raven quivered and bent over him, lips clamped on Naruto's neck, arms clutching Naruto for dear life.

Sometimes he really was a genius, thought Naruto as he slid the ice on Sasuke's lips, the inferior one lowering a little as he went to the neck.

"Naruto," breathed Sasuke, shuddering at each touch. He gasped and slightly bit Naruto as the latter trailed the ice between them, brushing a nipple, circling it before taking care of the other one. He drifted over pecs, down the ridges of ribs and then over the smooth and defined abs.

Using this distraction, he prepared his lover, amazed at how Sasuke was clinging to him, pushing his body against his in wild abandon. If he had knew ice would have such an effect he would have made sure there was plenty in their freezer.

Sasuke's lips suddenly claimed his, passionate and demanding, almost biting him as they fought for control. As blue crossed dark, the blonde could read distinctly in that endless darkness the order "now." Sasuke's arms wrapped under Naruto's armpits and over his shoulders as the blonde drove himself inside.

"Ahnn," moaned Sasuke, nuzzling his head on Naruto's neck, licking and nibbling; for the first time marking Naruto obviously not paying attention as he moved in time with the blonde's rhythm.

The ice made the raven's body shudder on its wake, as he brushed against his lower back just where Naruto and him connected, Sasuke's head snapped back. Naruto prevented him from arching with his arm, cupping Sasuke's nape as he ravaged his neck, his other hand roaming his lover's body to feel him trembling in his arms. He kept a slow movement with his hips, concentrating on preventing Sasuke from hurting himself.

"Naruto… _Naruto_," panted Sasuke, "speak."

"What?" asked Naruto, startled.

"Ahnn. _Speak_," he reiterated.

Finally it seemed that he wasn't the only one who loved to hear the other. When he thought that Sasuke always muttered about him being unable to keep his mouth shut… the little bastard. Obliging, he began his usual mantra, repeating Sasuke's name over and over. Powerless to keep being nice Naruto sped up, thrusting into Sasuke, hands cupping him to guide him and increase the rhythm, ice pressed between his wrist and Sasuke's lower back, rubbing it with each movement. He could imagine the pleasure searing through Sasuke's nerves like fire as he felt his lover's legs parting even more on instinct. Sasuke was hopelessly twisting Naruto's strands in his fists, sounds of pleasure escaping his traitorous mouth. At last everything turned black as he strangled his cry of ecstasy.

Naruto slammed one last time as he rode his orgasm and finally lowered Sasuke on the bed, regretfully leaving his tightness to go and find something to clean them both. He knew how Sasuke hated feeling dirty. He washed them rapidly and leaned against his lover, resting on his elbow to look at him, dark hair sticking to his face, sweat almost making his body glow. He gasped as Sasuke pulled himself on top of him, cuddling his back against Naruto's body.

"It's all the fever's fault," mumbled Sasuke as he drifted to sleep.

"Sure," replied Naruto grinning like an idiot. Too bad he would have to point out when Sasuke woke up that he was a closet-pervert, after all who would have thought he was up to having sex in a hospital, in a room admittedly soundproof but with a transparent wall…

-End warning-

Iabara and Silk found room 229 easily. It was on the next corridor. A heavy silence reigned. Tentatively they pushed the door that opened without a sound. White met their eyes; only a glimpse of gold between bandages told them it was indeed Ryû's room. He looked so small suddenly, so frail… they were used to him being full of life, playing with their nerves by showing off constantly, even when sleeping Ryû had managed to look full of himself but right now he just looked incredibly fragile. It was horrible to be granted access to this part of him, it was as if they were violating his privacy, seeing him defenseless, finally seeing the insecure child he was. His soul was naked before them for the first time.

Silk felt tears gathering in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall, because Ryû would hate it. Slowly they approached the unconscious form, drowned under bandages, golden tresses not managing to give him a semblance of life.

They sat on each side of him, not daring to look at each other. At the same time Ibara and Silk took one of Ryû's motionless hands. At least he had some warmth left.

"I'm sorry," came the choked voice of Ibara as he pressed his head to his friend's hand. "I'm so sorry… I should have protected you… I… I had promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you… I'm so sorry Ryû… It should have been me… it should have been me."

Silk didn't so much as glance at her team mate; she ran her thumb on Ryû's soft skin in slow hypnotic motions.

"I apologize. I will be stronger next time… you shouldn't have had to save me," she murmured.

"It's not your place, Ryû. You know that… you're not meant to be in a hospital looking… looking," Ibara's voice caught in his throat, "like this."

Silk raised her head, looking at Ibara's bent one. "We both promised we would take care of you. We're so sorry not to have keep this promise… just… come back."

Ibara raised his watery eyes and gave her a shy smile. "After all you're team 5's leader, Ryû. We're never going to forgive ourselves if you leave us. Right, Silk?"

"Hai."

They stayed in silence, simply holding Ryû's hands. Manda settled at the door, turning his back to them. He had a feeling it was going to take long, really long. Sasuke would be angry if someone interrupted them… now he was playing the guard dog. His caster really was a pain in the neck.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tsunade sat with her arms crossed on her huge breast, listening to the complaints of the people in front of her. Jiraiya stood at the window, he seemed not to be paying attention but the clutching of his fists told another story.

"He's dangerous. It's a fact, you can't deny it now."

"Uchiha-san is dying because of him, and his team barely made it."

"I don't want my son to be trained by a demon."

At this last remark Tsunade had to squeeze her breast even more to prevent herself from beating the shit out of Ryû's father. Such words coming from someone that hadn't been to his son's bedside even once. She could understand he had to be with his wife, she had heard of her obsession with her son's well being, but still… She still didn't understand why Mr Tokage had insisted that her wife shouldn't come and see Ryû, for all she knew he might not have told her.

"Naruto isn't a danger. He wanted power to save them all and the Kyuubi used this opportunity to…" began Tsunade before being rudely cut by Tokage.

"He's not reliable, Hokage-sama! He let the Kyuubi out!"

"We understand he is a powerful weapon," Tsunade gritted her teeth, "and we are ready to let him stay a ninja under certain conditions but he can't be a teacher! We can't let our children between his paws," added someone.

"The last time I checked Naruto was still human!" snapped Tsunade, her fist breaking her desk in two.

Jiraiya put a comforting hand on her shoulder, leaning against the broken piece of furniture, he finally spoke. His mind had caught what Tsunade hadn't since she was clouded with anger.

"What are your conditions for Naruto staying a Ninja? What is it that you want?"

Tokage puffed his chest, looking smug.

"We want the demon holder to be forbidden to teach and we want a seal to be placed upon him." As Tsunade opened her mouth, Tokage raised a hand, silencing her, "I know he has already one but visibly it isn't enough, it has weakened. We want another one, a more powerful one that will make sure he can't turn against us. A seal like the Hyuuga's branches wear."

"What!" exclaimed Tsunade, riling in anger. They wanted to be able to kill Naruto by only snapping their fingers? To make him a tool!

"That's what it will take to make us feel safe," affirmed Tokage, "I understand you have some… doubts but it's the best for the village, _Hokage-sama_."

Tsunade's eyes became slits as she was subtly reminded that her motherly feeling for Naruto should be stomped on. As if she was going to let them do that! She would find a loop and save Naruto. Furthermore if he wore the seal, it meant he wouldn't be able to become Hokage, that would surely kill him.

"Fine," started Jiraiya ignoring the murderous and incredulous look he received from his team mate, "we will entrust the child's training to someone else."

A murmur of joy met this statement, Tokage nodding to his friends, proud to have made his point.

"But the seal isn't an option; it would give too much power to the person able to control it. Moreover we can't deprive someone of their liberties like that. Whether you believe it or not Naruto is a human being, not only a demon holder. We will of course, think about a way to strengthen the current seal."

Tsunade nodded her consent, knowing they couldn't say no to all of their allegations. The most important was to keep Naruto free, to protect his dream. Murmurs filled the room as Tokage and his group discussed the new turn of events.

"We will wait for your suggestions," granted Tokage, lips thinned in anger.

"Who will take care of team 5 from now on?" asked another man, visibly intended to be the one promoted.

"I will," stated a voice from behind them.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Naruto"

"Mmrrr, let me sleep 'astard," groaned Naruto, pushing the hand that was shaking him.

"I'm leaving," replied Sasuke, fastening his belt and already going toward the door.

That woke up Naruto who stood up and came to embrace his lover from behind. It was nice of him to have warned him, so he wouldn't worry when he didn't see him. It seemed that the Uchiha's fever had lowered and he was looking a little fresher.

"So soon? Can't you stay a little longer?" he whined, nibbling on a nice earlobe.

"I have a lot to do," retorted Sasuke yet not moving an inch.

"You're convalescent," pointed out Naruto, sliding his hands under the yukata, Sasuke grabbing his wrists half-heartedly to stop him. The blonde grinned as Sasuke leaned in his embrace, restraining a shiver as Naruto teased his nipples with his thumbs.

"I have to find Silk and Ibara before they get in trouble, to see Hokage-sama about you being in jail, and the guards' replacements should arrive soon, we don't want you having even more problems, do we?"

"But everything can wait for mmm let's say twenty minutes, right?" purred Naruto, pressing his arousal against Sasuke's back to make his intent clearer.

"Maybe," answered Sasuke, smirking.

Naruto roughly shoved him against the glass wall, rocking his body on Sasuke's. His hand snaked to spread closed thighs and rub at what was between. Sasuke's breath was clouding the glass, Naruto lifted the yukata. They didn't have time for much preparation. Naruto felt Sasuke struggle and turn in his arms, wanting to face him.

"No," growled Naruto, pushing him harder on the glass, grabbing a wrist to keep him there. He wanted to take him like that.

Before realising what had happened Naruto was on the floor, nursing a sore cheek where Sasuke had punched him.

"Sasuke?" he inquired, worried.

"I will erase the anbu's memory. I will get you out of here as soon as I can," said Sasuke, leaving the room with those words.

Naruto looked at his lover using the Mangekyou on the two men. He shouldn't have tried to force him, he knew Sasuke always refused this position… but why? And was it really a reason to bloody punch him?

"Bastard," muttered Naruto.

"Yo! Sasuke what are you doing?" yelled a familiar voice.

"Obviously something he's not supposed to do," answered another one.

Naruto jumped on his feet, waving to the newly arrived as Sasuke simply gave them a curt nod of acknowledgement.

"Kiba! Shino! Nice to see you guys!"

"Whoa, Naruto sucks to be you. To think they locked you up."

Sasuke untied the anbu, they would wake up shortly. He winced as he stood and grunted as Shino helped him up.

"You're supposed to be in bed," deadpanned the insect shinobi.

"Supposed," responded Sasuke earning the ghost of a smile from Shino, "I trust the rest to you," he added as he left, not sure about his legs but managing to disguise it.

Shino acquiesced and turned to his chatting team mate.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The children had fallen asleep at Ryû's bedside. The latter hadn't given any sign of consciousness. Manda rose, ready to strike as he heard heavy footsteps coming closer. He slackened as he saw it was Sasuke, he was walking slowly and obviously it was tiring him a great deal.

"Good job, Manda," he acknowledged as he entered the room, going directly to the bed to lean against it. As soon as he had, Ibara and Silk awoke; kunai in hand.

"Sasuke-sensei," greeted Silk.

"Go back to Ibara's room. We will say you were with me," they both nodded, "As you have seen Naruto is locked up. It's because he's the Kyuubi's holder, but I supposed you had already guessed it. There will be trouble coming ahead; Naruto might not be allowed to be your teacher anymore. I want you to explain everything to Ryû when he wakes up. Dismissed."

Silk and Ibara immediately stood up and left the room. They were glad someone took the time to explain what was happening. Sasuke-sensei always considered them adults, which was a gift and a curse at the same time.

Before leaving Sasuke checked the monitor, making sure everything was alright with Ryû.

"Manda."

The snake king glided to his master and wrapped around him in a way that permitted Sasuke to rest against him without making it obvious.

"To the Hokage."

Manda set in motion, and was glad to see Sasuke completely lean on his embrace, letting him carry him. It looked like Sasuke was walking if you didn't pay too much attention. They took the shortest way possible while avoiding the nurses that would surely put him back to bed.

Sasuke motioned to Manda to wait a little as he eavesdropped on the conversation, catching the unfair requests.

"Who will take care of team 5 from now on?" asked a man.

"I will," stated Sasuke, entering the room.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Please review!

Next chapter: **Conflicts on a Raindrop**


	11. Conflicts on a rain drop

**Chapter ****11: Conflicts on a rain drop**

I'm beginning to lack ways to say thanks to my beta.  
Thanks to my friend She-Who-has-no-name for her help with Japanese words.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

Here is a new chapter, I have no idea when next one will be up, I haven't even started it yet…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I will," stated Sasuke entering the room.

They all turned to him, Tokage literally twisting. He was scratching his chin, he seemed not to know whether he should be pleased or not. The Uchiha heir, whom he loved so much, seemed to have different opinions from his on more than one subject.

"Uchiha-san," he started slowly, "are you sur-"

"_I will_," insisted Sasuke eyes unwavering.

Tsunade shivered a little at the tension, Sasuke was almost murderous. She had never thought he would react like that.

"But you are an anbu captain, you can't," opposed Tokage matter of factly.

"I quit."

"What?" exclaimed Tokage, eyes bulging out in surprise.

Sasuke shrugged, glancing at Tsunade before taking a seat, Manda shifting its hold but staying around him for when he would need to stand up. Distractedly Sasuke pet its head, scratching the scales.

"I've been in Anbu long enough. It's not recommended to stay too long. I couldn't take a team sooner because I believed it to be useless. But seeing Naruto and his team, I think it would serve to improve my capacities as a ninja. I already know this team's dynamics. I've worked with them, so it wouldn't disturb them too much to change teachers and I won't need to adapt. We would be operational right away. Moreover I would gladly take care of your son, Tokage-san."

Tokage swelled with pride, opening his arms and bending slightly in gracious defeat.

"Very well, I'm honored. That's one problem settled," Jiraiya smiled. Sasuke hadn't usurped his title as the Uchiha heir. He was manipulating and cunning. This man would become powerful and dangerous for sure, he already was. Seeing how things had turned for him since he was back in Konoha there was little doubt that he hadn't found the Uchiha's register. He had for sure regained all the connections his family once had. He knew of all the debts, dirty secrets and the like. Orochimaru hadn't only taught him how to fight. Maybe he even knew what Orochimaru had known about Konoha's high class. With practice he would have them all wrapped around his little finger.

"Now about the Kyuubi," reminded a man.

Tsunade used this opportunity, she had already thought of that since the first time she had heard of the four-tailed Naruto.

"I have a solution. You might think I was taking this problem lightly but that's not the case. I have given it much thought. I have an idea."

They looked at her wirily, her huge fake smile making them squirm a little. Tokage was nervously dusting his clothes.

"As you know captain Yamato or Tenzou inherited the power to control the Kyuubi."

"A power that cannot be passed on! As soon as this man is dead the Kyuubi will be free again!"

"SILENCE!" thundered Tsunade, slamming her fist on her already crushed desk.

"As I was saying, Yamato is able to control the Kyuubi. He explained to me, and will explain to you if you feel the need, that the Kyuubi isn't Naruto, as we all knew even if some seemed to doubt it," she glared at those words, "the Kyuubi is locked inside a sort of cage in Naruto's subconscious –"

"Are you trying to tell us he can talk to it?" gasped a man before shutting his mouth under one vicious look; a vein had popped on Tsunade's forehead.

"Yes he can but not the other way around." Well she wasn't really sure about this but whatever. "On the cage there is a seal and -"

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but how do you know that?" asked Tokage, scratching his chin.

Tsunade took a deep breath, grabbed a bottle of "Konoha's purest spring" and poured herself some. Sasuke wrinkled his nose as the scent of alcohol touched his nostrils. So much for "Konoha's purest spring…"

"Naruto of course," she finally offered, Tokage tried to speak but Tsunade beat him to it, "Yamato-taichou isn't able to see inside Naruto but this information was confirmed by a reliable source: Uchiha-san who is here with us and can see and speak to the Kyuubi."

There was a huge blank. Tsunade gulped down her glass, smiling at the Uchiha who had his eyes slightly narrowed. Jiraiya having caught up with Tsunade's idea, winked at him to make him understand this wasn't going to get Naruto in more trouble.

"Uchiha-san fought the Kyuubi twice inside Naruto."

Sasuke frowned. How would telling the truth help? They were going to freak out even more. There was a problem, he had to admit it; it was something they couldn't hide. He trusted Naruto but that wasn't the question, the Kyuubi was more and more free. He had to trust Tsunade to keep Naruto safe. He had a hard time thinking anyone but he could and he wasn't actually sure _he_ actually could do it. Whispers of shock broke through the room, questions being asked in a jumble.

"Let me explain. One of the powers of the Sharingan is having access to other people's subconscious," Sasuke nodded as he felt eyes on him, "inside Naruto is a cage that contains the Kyuubi. A seal is placed on the door. The Yondaime's seal prevents the Kyuubi from going out and taking over its holder. But this seal has begun to unwind."

Once again chatting could be heard and nods were being exchanged.

"We told you he was dangerous."

"Who knows when the Kyuubi will take over."

"He can't," assured Sasuke, his voice cutting through the noise and bringing back the silence. "For the moment half the seal has disappeared, the Kyuubi can partly take form out of its cage but not enough to be a danger."

"Indeed," pursued Tsunade, leaning on her chair, nursing her already tenth drink, "yet, the more Naruto uses its power, sometimes by going on the other side of the cage, the more the seal breaks."

"He's reckless! Of course such a child couldn't –" started someone fervently.

"I believe it started to break because of what Konoha has asked of Naruto," stated Tsunade, waiting for all the eyes to turn to her, glued to her lips, before continuing. "He had to use the Kyuubi to fight Gaara of the Sand. He had to use it against Orochimaru and Sasuke. At the time he was too inexperienced."

Jiraiya stepped closer, pacing as he started to explain:

"I tried to teach him how to use the power, but I didn't fully understand the seal's functioning. At first Naruto only borrowed the demon's power. But I insisted that he used it more to become more powerful. It was too soon. To have more power Naruto had to step inside the cage. This must have weakened the seal allowing the Kyuubi to come out the more Naruto sought power. It helped him understand the limits that shouldn't be crossed but every time he crossed the gate the seal was damaged."

Before someone could speak, the Hokage resumed speaking. Her smile growing as she helped demonstrate how Naruto wasn't responsible for what had happened. The men in the room grew restless as they saw they would have a hard time proving her wrong.

"Since he had to use it all the time for Konoha's sake, during countless anbu missions and lately against the Akatsuki, it explains the state the seal is in now."

"Naruto should have stopped using this power! He should have known that crossing the gate put everyone in danger. He's unreliable," spat Tokage.

Both the Sanin shook their heads.

"It's important to point out that Naruto can't always know the limits, because they keep changing since the seal keeps breaking. Naruto has proven to be great in dealing with that. He is able to resist the Kyuubi up to three tails. When he is at four, his body that should be destroyed by so much power as explained to us by Yamato-taichou, isn't. Naruto is talented enough to lessen the Kyuubi's power over him. As to why he has chosen to cross the cage, it has always been in life threatening situations for his team mates."

Jiraiya didn't waver as he told this lie. The first time Naruto had pushed the limits was against him, at his order and that had nearly cost Jiraiya his life. The second time was against Orochimaru when he was consumed by anger and desire to bring back Sasuke. He had hurt Sakura that time. However, since then, the three other times, it had been for his friends. Twice in anbu missions under, thankfully, Yamato's leadership and the last time to try to save Team 5 and Sasuke, even if it had been a mistake. But this time Jiraiya was sure that Naruto had understood that using the Kyuubi only made matters worse.

"I might add that Sasuke is able to push the Kyuubi back into its cell before it comes out. Once it is out… we don't really know. Uchiha-san was already badly hurt when he fought him."

"Hn," agreed Sasuke, eyes fixed on Tokage, feeling him restless and ready to counterattack.

"It means that the seal isn't enough. I can't see any solution other than the Hyuuga branch's family seal," stated Tokage not liking Tsunade's smile one bit.

"On the contrary, what we explained made clear my idea is perfect. Let me explain."

Sasuke didn't know what she had in mind, but it had better be great because he wouldn't let anything bad happen to Naruto. He was ready to turn rogue again by killing all the assholes in this room if necessary.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Everything was so white. It reminded him of his mother, her long and shiny white strands, her pale features and her long and slender fingers, almost transparent, as if everything in her was made of glass. Would the sun illuminate her as it did stained glass in churches? He remembered the gloomy church where his mother had taken him. It had been so peaceful but so terribly dark, the little candles that had been lit hadn't helped at all. They even seemed to make the darkness worse, as if eating all the light. And then, he could still picture it so clearly, he just had to close his eyes and he would see the sun coming through the stained glass of Michael trampling the dragon imprinted on his eyelids. It had come suddenly alive, the dragon's fire, the sun of the archangel's wings had illuminated the church. It was so beautiful that he hadn't been paying attention to the glint of steel and the drops of blood everywhere as if Michael had just pierced the dragon. But…

Ryû shook his head, opening his eyes to look at the ceiling. Funny, it seemed his vision wasn't the same as usual. Slowly he reached a hand to his face and his fingertips graced the harshness of bandages covering his left eye. He felt more, lower, around his chest. It seemed he had been pretty injured. That would leave marks and he had the feeling his left eye would never see again. Briefly he wondered if he would be able to see the stained glass all the time now.

"She's going to lose it," he muttered to no one in particular.

He remembered now what his last thought had been. _Seems like I passed the gift to someone else._ The gift? His hands twisted the sheets. Was it really what it was? Anyway, he wasn't dead and he was glad. Well first because he didn't want to die, of course, and also because he felt relieved for Silk. She wouldn't have to suffer having someone die for her.

A gift, ne? No, a curse. Weren't the ones left behind, the ones for whom someone had given everything, the ones suffering? To feel as if you had been deprived of your liberty, to owe someone so much, to live in fear… fear to hurt his mother, to spoil this present. The guilt of having survived, of having been too weak. She would have had to deal with that thought even if it wasn't her fault at all… it had been a combination of circumstances that had led to him choosing to lose his eye for her.

He let his gaze wander to the window, wishing the curtains weren't closed. How the hell was he going to tell his mother? She was going to cry, to scream and break right in front of him. He wasn't sure if it was recommended to cry with a destroyed eye! Rubbing his good eye and pressing his lost one, Ryû tried to bite back his tears.

"What was I supposed to do? I had to choose… I had to," he whispered, hands pressed on his face.

It had been him or her. Weren't you supposed to protect your loved ones? After all he had been protected, so why couldn't he do it too? In fact, humans were egoistical beings. To sacrifice oneself for someone was cruel but to forbid it was too. According to his father it was a useless act to save a team mate at risk of your own life. It was also stupid to save someone who wasn't vital to the mission. He had contradicted both his parents in one go. Great.

"I hope Sasuke-sensei will be proud," he laughed bitterly.

He remembered. _You're what I call trash. You're able to help your team but you don't. Yesterday Silk and Ibara could have died. You had the strength to save them but you didn't. You're lame._ Those were his exact words. They were burnt into his mind with his mother's pleas and his father's angry reprimands. He was in an awkward position between his parents and senseis, they had completely different points of view.

"Maybe it's time I found my own principles?"

Ryû tried to huddle up but the pain in his chest prevented him from doing so. Settling for only bending his legs, he resumed his thinking. What did he want? To make his mother happy and to make his father love him or to protect his loved ones? Already there was a problem; he couldn't do both for obvious reasons. So which was most important? No, that wasn't the right word, they both mattered. What would be the cleverest choice? He was so scared… damn being responsible, facing life and changing was so scary…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Kiba waved at the departing anbu and as soon as they had their backs turned he gave them the finger. Naruto laughed at this while Shino simply ignored them. Akamaru settlled for a little nap.

"I'm so glad you're here, they were starting to get on my nerves," whined Naruto pouting before starting to stretch.

Kiba put his hand on the glass wall and passed through it, some parts clinging to his body before slapping back into place, vibrating a little.

"Urg, I will never get used to this jelly thing," mentioned Kiba, brushing his clothes.

"Well be happy you're not locked inside, dude. It's so boring in here."

Kiba snorted at that, looking around and poking at the futon, arms crossed behind his head as he winked at Naruto.

"Sure, Sasuke didn't entertain you one bit… funny it smells… familiar," teased Kiba.

A wide grin appeared on Naruto's face, as he draped an arm around his friend.

"A dog-man as always, but why familiar? I'm sure you're still not getting any…" bantered Naruto.

"Well, don't be so sure," responded Kiba a dreamy look on his face.

Naruto wondered if the red tattoos on his friend's face were there so you couldn't tell if he blushed or not. Naruto let his face become serious, showing that he didn't take this lightly nor was asking for details. "Was it good?"

"Yeah, perfect," sighed Kiba already gone to Lala-land.

He landed abruptly when Naruto pulled on his waistband to peer inside his pants.

"The fuck Naruto!" yelled Kiba elbowing him. "Keep your wandering hands for Sasuke!" he added, giving him a withering look.

Grinning smugly, Naruto cowered under the glare. "I was just checking you were still whole…" under the startled and still angry yet amused look his friend was giving him, Naruto elaborated, "well Neji is your brother-in-law."

Kiba rolled his eyes and gave him the finger before flopping down on the futon. He then pointed at Naruto's cheek were Sasuke's punch was still slightly visible, in this room the Kyuubi's power were slowed down.

"What happened? Did they beat you up?"

"Oh that?" asked Naruto, touching his cheek and laughing dismissively. "It's just my bastard of a lover that punched me when I tried to er… jump him from behind," he explained, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

Kiba chuckled, looking at the seals on the ceiling. "That sounds like something he would do."

Naruto huffed, sitting cross legged next to his friend. "He's a bastard but still, I don't understand why I can do whatever I want to him when we're facing and then he goes berserk on me when I try something from behind…"

Kiba rolled on his side, eyeing him suspiciously. Naruto was blushing slightly to be discussing this private matter; it was one thing to joke about sex and another to speak of one's own experiences and trouble.

"It's a question of trust."

"Huh?" replied Naruto cleverly. "You mean he doesn't trust me?" he asked in a little voice, hurt showing in the blue depths.

"He wouldn't let you touch him if he didn't, dude. It's more like… instinct?" tried Kiba, fidgeting slightly.

Naruto blinked owlishly and Kiba growled as he understood he would have to explain it all.

"Have you ever seen animals making love? Especially felines?"

"Well yeah, but what is the connection? Last time I checked, which wasn't long ago, Sasuke wasn't a cat," joked Naruto, trying to ease the slight tension.

Kiba cleared his throat. "Well… he can be compared to one. He's like a feline –"

"Prissy?" sniggered Naruto, earning an amused smile from Kiba.

"Rather like, secretive, always on his guard, not very trusting and the like. To make it short his instincts are very sharp. The male cat has to make quite a long courting before being able to reproduce with the female. When they do, erm… he's holding her nape in his teeth and, well you see. It's to prove the owning and to reassure at the same time."

A light lit in Naruto's eyes has he slowly processed what Kiba was telling him. "You mean I'm not doing it right?"

"Yeah, you have to sort of tame him."

"I get it. For him it's a very vulnerable position, because it would be hard to defend himself. I have to coax him and reassure him. Man, that explains a lot. I suppose it's the same thing in the bathroom, he doesn't have many weapons in there… I see," mumbled Naruto, nodding pensively.

"He's got weapons in his bathroom?" asked Kiba bewildered.

"Well yeah, you know him. He's a little paranoid."

"You're meant for each other," replied Kiba, snickering before adding, "you're both nuts."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged a smile as they saw that they had convinced the majority.

"Let me see if I got this right, you want Uchiha-san to go inside Naruto to restore the seal?" asked a man, doubtful.

The Hokage nodded, entangling her fingers in front of her, breasts flopping on the desk as she bent a little. Jiraiya pinched his nose to prevent a potential nose-bleed.

"Indeed. Yamato will help him to keep the Kyuubi at bay and some powerful clan head will assure that the seal is perfect."

They looked at each other, some doubting others seeming to agree. Tokage was huffing, anger radiating in waves off him. He felt he was losing the battle.

"Which clan head do you feel would be needed?"

Tsunade leaned back on her seat as if pondering the question. Pouring herself another glass she waited for them to be on their toes.

"I thought of the Hyuuga clan since they are one of the strongest and are good with chakra control and seals. Then, maybe the Aburame, the Akumichi, why not the Nara and Inuzuka."

Sasuke had a hard time concealing his smirk at the names; all were people who were on Naruto's side. This was perfect; at this rate Naruto would be free and safe. He couldn't afford to lose another precious person, never again.

"Who assures us that Uchiha-san will do this correctly? Yamato trained Naruto so he might be on his side just like Uchiha-san," pointed out Tokage.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. It seemed that the man had decided his love and respect for Sasuke had suffered as he took Naruto's defense and maybe Silk's. Really, he could almost feel sorry for Ryû, almost.

"You used to trust me," he reminded him.

"Yes, I used to. I have a lot of respect for your power but you are still young and easily manipulated, as your little trip to Orochimaru proved to us."

Manda hissed as Sasuke's eyes tinted with red but he didn't retort, waiting for Tokage to finish so he could crush him.

"You ditched Konoha once, what tells us you won't do it again? Especially since the demon holder is the one who brought you back. You can be his ally. There is also this… rumor about you being his lover."

"He has a point, Uchiha-san," remarked a man, looking around him to gain support.

Sasuke crossed his legs, pushing one of his strands behind his ear.

"I will concede that Naruto is everything to me," replied Sasuke, as if this admission cost him, and maybe it did since he disliked showing his feelings in public. "He's the one who brought me back. I shall remind you that my little trip to Orochimaru served its purpose. I killed Uchiha Itachi the Akatsuki member and killer of the Uchiha clan, a man none of Konoha had succeed in arresting. I shall also remind you that after Orochimaru's downfall in a rescue mission from Sand and Konoha to bring me back, I went after my brother but sent you valuable information on everything concerning Konoha. I served as a spy. I was also fully rehabilitated and named anbu captain. I believe this decision wasn't made lightly."

There was a small silence before discussion started everywhere. With a predatory smirk Sasuke bent toward Tokage, looking in his eyes, making him really uncomfortable since everyone knew the power of Sasuke's irises.

"Tokage-san, don't you trust the head clan's power? Especially the Hyuuga? You believe the Kyuubi can deceive the Byakugan?" he asked smoothly, voice dripping sarcasm.

"I… I…" stuttered Tokage, unable to come up with a decent answer.

"I see. Aren't you a little paranoid?" teased Jiraiya, earning small laugh.

Tsunade and Jiraiya exchanged a look of complicity. The kid was good. He was used to the silent man, the one in the shadows, lurking power never on the front. This was a different side, a feline showing teeth and claws to protect what was his. Sasuke would be an splendid ally for a future Hokage, once trained in this world's wheels. Good thing he was Naruto's lover. The next Hokage would always have a good right arm, and Naruto was the only one who would have Sasuke's unbounded fidelity.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk and Ibara were in Ibara's room. Ibara was lying down, looking grim since the medic-nins had insisted that he had to stay in bed, especially since he had taken quite a long promenade. Silk had her legs dangling from the bed, her katana on her knees, hands resting on it. They weren't talking. Now that they knew everything they felt a little better, still worried about the future but better.

"Silk?"

"Yes?"

"Can you sleep at night?"

Silk turned toward her team mate, meeting his eyes. Now that their concern had been lifted from their shoulders, they couldn't get out of their minds the fact that they had, for the first time, killed. A demon was stirring in their mind. They had killed. They had had a reason to do it, but still…

Silk closed her eyes as pictures of blood rushed to her mind. She had killed two people. Even if Kisame hadn't been all her doing she still had pierced him with her katana.

"I can still hear him cry," offered Silk, caressing her katana, feeling her hands moistening.

"Me too," replied Ibara, scratching his arm. Kabuto's scream as he had been engulfed in poisoned blood had been awful. He woke up in the middle of the night with it still ringing in his hears. He supposed he was lucky, he hadn't seen his face… Silk had had to see it.

"You think it's normal to be… happy he died? I mean… he would have killed us, the same for Kisame," whispered Silk. "Does that make me a monster?" she asked even lower, gripping her sword and almost piercing her skin with her nails.

"We are Shinobis. We have to kill. It was to save our lives. I suppose it's normal to feel that way, it will fade with time."

"You, you're also…" wondered Silk, eyeing him, hands slackening her hold.

"Yeah, I was so relieved that they were dead," he reassured offering her a small smile.

Silence settled in. Both thinking and dealing with their conscience. Finally Silk spoke again, "I don't want to get used to it."

Ibara tugged at his beret, perplexed. "Why? It would make you feel better…"

"I think getting used to killing people is not a good thing. Maybe I will feel less like shit, but I don't want it to become something natural, trivial. I wouldn't be myself anymore."

Ibara looked at the window, pondering the issue. He hoped he wouldn't have nightmares anymore, that it would be easier, still she was right. Even if it was a mission, if it was to save people, life was precious. It would be scary if one day he could look at his victim's eyes and feel nothing.

"Do you think we should speak to the teachers?" interrogated Ibara.

"I can already hear them. Naruto-sensei is going to turn it into a joke and Sasuke-sensei will snap at us that it's something we have to deal with ourselves and that the answer is different for everyone," replied Silk.

They looked at each other and grinned. Both looked at the end of the bed, at the place their missing team mate would have occupied, as if expecting him to be there, taking offense because they were making fun of Sasuke-sensei.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next day's evening saw Sasuke fighting with the medic-nins to be allowed to leave the hospital. His fever had lessened but the poison was still in his veins and his body was weak, still not having completely healed. Pointing out that they obviously didn't know how to treat him and therefore being at home or at the hospital was the same, he escaped through a window.

Naruto was pacing in his room. He had a meeting with the Hokage in less than an hour and he was wondering what they had decided. Anbu he didn't know were guarding him, not being unpleasant but not in a chatty mood either. He was also worried about his team. He wondered how they were dealing with the idea of having killed. The face of his first kill still haunted him. Should he tell them? He wondered if Sasuke would be there to bring him to the Hokage.

Still forced to bed, Ibara was clinging to his beret as his mother stubbornly tried to take it off to kiss him on the head. A nurse was giggling at seeing the evening's antics. Ibara's father was cheering his wife, not wanting to deal with her if she didn't get what she wanted. He felt sorry for his son though.

Ryû was eyeing the ceiling. His father was supposed to come to bring him back home. He feared seeing his father, but he feared seeing his mother even more. He wondered if he would have a chance to see his team mates and senseis. He stared at the piece of paper he was gripping. He had written to them in case he wasn't able to. He had to still his mind.

Silk was at the cemetery, finding comfort in Kakashi's silent presence. She felt so lonely with nothing to do and nobody around. Visit time at the hospital had ended and she didn't want to go back to her small and deserted apartment even if Gouz was waiting for her. If it would only rain.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke decided not to leave the hospital but he had sought refuge in a secluded place. A broom closet. He hated the feeling of sterilization that gushed from the rooms. At least the closet felt more like home, well if you didn't count the brushes, brooms, and mops. So there he was, on the top of a shelf, dressed as usual and playing with a necklace and a headband. Kisame's. He would have to deal with all that once he was home. He hoped the cats were ok.

Glancing at the dangling lamp he sighed. He couldn't go home. He hated to admit it, but it wouldn't really be home anymore without Naruto. He was becoming too dependent on Naruto and the worst part was… he didn't mind.

"Naruto," he sighed then narrowed his eyes as he heard sounds.

Manda hadn't stirred from his clothes, which meant it wasn't a nurse. Sasuke climbed down from his shelf, opening the door just enough to peek. He met white pointy teeth, red tattoos, and lots of fur. Perfect. The second loudmouth and his dog.

As a snake attacking he burst out of his closet and abruptly pulled Kiba inside, closing the door as fast as he had opened it. Kiba stared at him wide eyed before muttering, "I knew you were a closet pervert, but don't you think you're pushing it a little?"

"Shut up," replied Sasuke. He wasn't going to explain he was hiding from the nurses while waiting for Naruto. "Do you know when Naruto is going to see the Hokage?"

Kiba grinned and Sasuke got the feeling that he just _knew_. Opening the door, Kiba stepped out.

"I'm going to fetch him. Coming?" he offered, still looking smug.

Sasuke was feeling slightly murderous but he simply followed, glaring at the dog lover's back. Half a smile was tugging at his lips, he felt a little childish. It was good to know that he could still go back there sometimes, even if it wasn't back to before the mas-… bad thought. As they arrived he saw the pacing Naruto who sent him a dazzling smile.

Naruto felt relief wash through him when his lover entered his eyesight. He was so glad that the bastard had come. In the worst case scenario he could elope with him. Wouldn't that be romantic? If he survived Sasuke's retaliation afterwards, of course.

"I don't know what's making you grin like that, but wipe it off," growled Sasuke yet letting Naruto slide a hand in his.

A team of anbu together with Kiba and Shino were escorting them. Naruto was getting more and more nervous with each step, even if he trusted Tsunade. He could feel that his lover was affected too. He was being a little too nice.

"Naruto?" whispered the raven.

"Yeah?"

"I have bad news for you. I prefer you hearing it from me rather than someone else," announced Sasuke, looking at the blonde from the corner of his eye.

Naruto's hold tightened and he nodded, he was ready for what was coming. It would feel better coming from Sasuke anyway.

"Team 5 has been withdrawn from you," began Sasuke.

He felt the fingers close on him enough to hurt. The blue irises had watered but Naruto was stubbornly staring in front of him. Sasuke gave him a small caress with his thumb. He didn't know what to say. He could feel the anger, the sadness and at the same time the guilt.

Naruto bit the inside of his cheeks. He couldn't even fight this decision, he knew it. It was so unnerving to feel so powerless, to have to resign. It was so fucking unfair! Suddenly Sasuke gripped his shoulder and black locked into blue, they were still moving forward so that the anbu wouldn't complain.

"I took the liberty of becoming their teacher," said Sasuke, waiting for Naruto's reaction.

To say the truth he didn't know if his lover would be happy. After all he was sort of stealing them from him. For once Naruto had really something of his own and Sasuke was taking it. He felt bad about it and was ready to stop everything if necessary. It was like in the old times, Sasuke had had Sakura, strength, and everyone's attention. He didn't want to step on Naruto's territory again.

"You, you… ?" stumbled Naruto before crushing Sasuke against him releasing him immediately.

They walked in silence for some time, Sasuke not having a clue as to what he was supposed to say. He wasn't even certain that Naruto wasn't angry. He wasn't used to dealing with people's feelings. He already had a hard time with his, so dealing with another's was worse.

"What about anbu?" asked Naruto, voice thick.

"I quit," he responded tentatively.

Naruto didn't turn to him. Sasuke glanced at the anbu around them, seeing Kiba look at him questionably and then motioning that he would throttle him if he dared hurt Naruto. Sasuke rolled his eyes, as if Naruto needed someone to express his fury for him.

"Anbu was important for you… you just quit?" mumbled Naruto, voice low, getting even lower as he glanced at Sasuke, tears pouring on his face, "for me?"

Sasuke's train of thought stopped. He was he really in love with this horribly emotional and snot covered man… he hadn't thought twice about anbu. He just couldn't have let them take this away from Naruto and he couldn't have let the children be given to anyone. Since he thought the answer was obvious, he simply presented Naruto with a tissue. The latter giving a small laugh and wiping his face, thanking his healing capacity, it wouldn't do if he looked like a mess for his "trial".

Naruto and Sasuke both froze as a familiar voice ringed not far from them.

"… father… because you don't deserve the title," said Ryû's voice.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû had nothing to pack. The nurses had thrown away his torn clothes without asking for his permission. He was simply sitting on his bed waiting for his father, wondering if he would even come. He had been training how to walk with only one working eye; it wouldn't have done to stumble. He would have to get used to it fast, especially for battles.

He reached for his eye, finding comfort at the bandage's contact. He had truly done it. No one would be able to deny it, not with the proof carved into his body. As he let his hand rest once more on his knees, he sighed; his sleeves were far too big. Slowly he wound them up. He had to thank Ibara's mother for the clothes she had brought for him. Maybe his father had thought that it wouldn't be a problem to have his son walking around naked?

The door flew open and Ryû simply raised his head. He was more than used to his father not knocking. The man had frozen on the spot, fingers still brushing the knob. It seemed like he was shocked, Ryû had left his shirt open just so his father could see the wound on his chest.

"You will kill Annabelle. Ungrateful brat! Look at yourself! Can't you at least protect yourself? Worthless, really worthless!" spat Tokage, leaving the room and tapping his foot until Ryû followed stopping three steps behind him.

"I see you are really concerned about my well being. I lost my eye by the way," mentioned Ryû, keeping his head bowed.

He felt his body being pulled forward as he was gripped by his collar to find himself suddenly nose to nose with his father.

"You're the downfall of our family. Do you realize what you have done? Annabelle will…"

"Will what?" screamed Ryû, shaking off his father's hold. "Continue to ignore you? You don't exist for her! Just like I don't exist for you!"

"It's all your damn fault, Ryû! Ungrateful brat! I took care of you even after what happened. You have been a disaster from the moment you were born!" replied Tokage, his movements becoming frantic, not believing that his son was standing up to him. How dare he? After all he had done for him!

"Took care of me? I'm sure you only kept me because of mother and to keep up appearances! And it's not my fault," Tokage's eyes flared at that, "It was my mother's choice!"

His father snorted, shaking his head and laughing cruelly. "Her choice? It was your fault. Don't try to shake off your guilt, Ryû. Even now you're not thinking of her, look at what you did. Look at the state you're in. Aren't you the one who's always promising that nothing will happen? You're a liar, Ryû. You betrayed your mother once again."

Ryû stumbled at the accusation. He had been expecting it but hearing the words come from his father's harsh voice, cold and unforgiving wasn't the same. Had the man ever cared for him? Was it all because of the tragedy? To think it could tear up a family like that…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_The__ stained glass; Archangel Michael killing the Dragon. _

_It had been a__n undercover mission. His family had been sent to infiltrate a village and bring back a precious stolen relic. They had been there for one week pretending to be a newly arrived family. Ryû had been eight at the time. _

_His father was selling merchandise, to keep__ up their cover. His mother had brought him to the church, smiling and making him laugh. She had been beautiful in her purple dress; it always made her hair look like a halo and her golden eyes like precious jewels. Once inside, Ryû had been a bit scared. It was dark, gloomy, and cold even if it was really peaceful. _

_"Listen dear__, you will stay near the door and make sure nobody enters, watch the windows too, ok? This is a mission," she had added, glowing with love. _

_He had been straining his eyes in the darkness__, ignoring the concealed beauty of the stained glass. It was only something scary and he had to do what his mommy had asked. He kept staring everywhere and it had happened so fast. _

_The sun had fallen on the stained glass, illuminating Michael and the Dragon, giving life to the whole church. Ryû had marvelled at this, eyes growing wide and turning to see how everything was illuminated in green, blue, golden, and red light. He hadn't been facing the door anymore, when his eyes had been on the stained glass of the hero killing the dragon he had seen a flash of steel. _

_It had been so gorgeous; the stained glass had shattered in myriads of glass splinters, all with a bit of light in them. Then red dark and gold had flashed before his eyes. A scream had ringed in his ears. The last whispers of the dying dragon? _

_He had turned to Michael the archangel and stopped. He had no wings and his prey was no dragon. He had always thought blood was purple, but he was wrong, it was a deeper __color__; he could see it tainting his mother's dress at the shoulder. _

_"M__um?" he had asked, startled, not understanding what had happened. _

_The man, sword bloody had smiled at him, __raising his weapon. His mother had thrown him away and fought. He remembered the man always coming after him, succeeding in hurting his mother as she blindly tried to protect him. He had wounded her back as she had engulfed him in her arms. He would later find out that the spine had been harmed. He remembered the feeling of the hot blood and the weight of his mother as she collapsed, making him fall flat on his back. _

_He had thought she was dead. Reality had been worse. The medic nins had erased all the wounds leaving no scars, but her legs had been lost and her mind had never been the same. His father had lost all faith in medic nins and decided that protecting people was an error. _

_He hadn't been looking at the door. __He had been an inconvenience. She had lost everything to protect him. He had betrayed her trust. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I never understood it before, but she chose to protect me because I was her son, a precious person. Just like I chose to protect Silk and to not be a coward."

"It was stupid! You are only hurting your mother for stupid motives. Annabelle made a mistake protecting you! Look what it got her! And all you do is make her suffer more by spoiling her so called _gift_," he said harshly, spit coming out of his mouth.

"I just did what she did for me. I love her but she would have wanted me to live my life as I think is right."

"Don't make me laugh! If she could she would lock you with her! She made you promise not to-"

Ryû closed his eyes before looking at his father, "mother died in this church."

His head turned as he felt the slap on his cheek. He had to get it off his chest. He had to break his chains.

"Mother loved you and me. She wanted the best for us. What remains of her are only her body and a broken mind. Mother died. I will always take care of her, but I will stand for what her true self would have wanted, father."

He believed he was right. _Because someone gave everything for you sweet life._ "Someone," never "I." That wasn't his mother speaking. He loved her anyway and hoped that one day she would be back to her own self.

"Don't call me father!" yelled Tokage, as if the rest didn't matter. Maybe he just didn't have an answer?

"You're right. I shouldn't call you father," Tokage gloated with satisfaction, "because you don't deserve the title," ended Ryû.

He didn't wait for his father's reply. He just dashed screaming, "I'm going home, sir."

As soon as he was out of his father's eyesight he leaned against a wall. He had said it. He had fought his father. He didn't know what would come of it but… at least it was done. Now he would have to suffer the consequences and face his mother. His legs felt like jelly, slowly he slid on the wall, hiding his face in his knees. It was so hard.

"I'm glad to see some trash can be partly recycled."

Ryû raised his head to see both his senseis and lots of anbu. Naruto blowing his nose with tears in his eyes. Sasuke, the comment's author, of course was as cool and collected as ever.

"Sasuke!" admonished Naruto, "You're right, Ryû. He doesn't deserve the title. I'm glad you're not letting him walk all over you anymore. I wanted to tell you, you were wonderful with Silk and –"

"Oi, the Hokage is waiting for you, hurry up," ordered harshly one of the anbu.

Ryû frowned, this wasn't normal. Was Naruto-sensei in trouble?

"Sensei?" he asked starting to stand up.

"It's nothing, Ryû. I'm so proud of you!" he replied, waving at him as he followed the Anbu.

"Ask Ibara and Silk. They will explain everything to you," advised Sasuke, falling behind Naruto and his escort.

Ryû stared speechless at what was happening. It seemed like he had a lot to catch up on. First he would deal with his mother. Then he was going to find out what was going on. He felt tears burning his eyes at Naruto's open praises and Sasuke's hidden one. Maybe, just maybe he had made the right choice and everything would be alright.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto listened to all they had to say without piping a word. He knew it would have been a bad idea. Anyway it seemed that everything had already been decided. Sasuke's comforting presence helped him. He was standing right behind him, both hands on the back of his chair, fingers gently tickling his neck and playing with the blond strands.

"To sum it all up, your team was given to Uchiha-san and you are home confined until we are able to strengthen the Kyuubi's seal. Do you have any questions?"

He bit back a heated retort and simply nodded.

"You may all leave now. Sasuke, Naruto, I want a word," dismissed Tsunade.

The moment the door closed, Naruto jumped to his feet, gesticulating in rage. Sasuke used this opportunity to tiredly drop on the chair.

"I know, I know," sighed Tsunade, fondly looking at the young man. "I couldn't do better. I tried."

"Yeah, I know, hag," replied Naruto with a sheepish grin.

Tsunade slammed her fist on her new desk, not breaking it this time, and puffed her breasts as she yelled, "don't call me hag you brat!"

Sasuke closed his eyes, his head was pounding. He was glad Naruto was ok, as proved by the loud bantering, but he wanted peace and silence. He was hot, less than last time but still. He wanted to go back home, slide in bed, preferably with Naruto as a warmer, and sleep.

He opened one eye as he felt a hand come to rest on his forehead. Tsunade was in front of him. He slapped her hand away. Naruto snickered but got serious under Tsunade's cold look, a green glow was coming form her hand as she passed it over Sasuke's body from head to toe, stopping longer at the eyes and smirking knowingly in the lower regions.

"So?" asked Naruto, poking Tsunade to make her answer faster or just to piss her off, or both.

After flicking Naruto off and sending him at the other end of the room in the process, Tsunade took her seat behind her desk and filled up papers, giving one to Sasuke.

"You mustn't use your Sharingan for a while. Your eyes were damaged by the Mangekyou. Fortunately since we knew it could happen we checked them. You will be fine if you get some rest. I advise you to have regular checkups, especially after using the Mangekyou. As long as it is taken care of right away we will be able to stop your eyesight form deteriorating."

"Hn," answered Sasuke.

Tsunade turned to Naruto, who gave her the thumbs up. "I will make sure he does!"

"Traitor," muttered Sasuke between his teeth.

Tsunade smiled as Naruto made puppy eyes to soften his lover. The latter stubbornly ignoring him, sulking with his head held high and the ghost of a smile on his lips. She was honored to be deemed trusty and worthy enough to be a witness of the boys' fondness for each other. One day Sakura would be allowed too, she hoped.

Clearing her throat to attract their attention, she pursued, "I wanted to keep you at the hospital," she chuckled mentally as Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "but I just found out you were getting better. The fever has diminished and I finally found a cure."

Naruto bounced on her desk, leaning on it, nose almost touching hers, "Really? Really?"

"You made love yesterday didn't you?"

Naruto turned tomato red, falling on his ass and stumbling with words, glancing toward Sasuke who hadn't moved a muscle. But she would have sworn there was a light redness on his cheek that was not due to the fever.

"Wha-what are you talking about? Why do you think that? I was locked in the confinement room remember? You're saying non-sense old hag! Really," laughed Naruto, completely embarrassed, "what's the point with the treatment anyway?" he accused, pointing at her to divert her attention.

"Sperm has a lifespan of about three days, so there's no need to deny it, some are still present in Sasuke's organism." Sasuke's hands twitched, "Back to the main purpose. The Kyuubi's poison is running through Sasuke's veins. Until now we hadn't succeed in lowering the fever, yet yesterday it improved."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke who lifted an eyebrow at Tsunade before widening his eyes in shock, a shriek coming out of his mouth. Naruto twisted toward her, waiting expectantly for an explanation.

"Indeed, it's the sperm that did it," confirmed Tsunade.

Naruto's eyes were as big as saucers. "The hell?"

"You are immune to the Kyuubi's poison, that's why you can transform without dying. It's all in your chakra and there is chakra inside the sperm since it's a living cell. As soon as it enters Sasuke's body, the chakra acts against the poison," elucidated Tsunade, seeing something light up in Naruto's eyes.

"You mean the treatment is my sperm?" he asked, a hint of mischief in his voice, an evil glint awakening in the blue irises.

"You're going to make an injection of it, right?" asked Sasuke hopefully.

Tsunade looked at her beloved Naruto, already rubbing his hands, pleading with his blue puppy eyes and mouthing eternal thanks to her. She had always been weak with her loved one.

"Why bother when there is a natural way?" she shrugged.

Sasuke's horrified expression was worth seeing. As they left, to be escorted by Kiba and Shino to the Uchiha district, Naruto blew kisses to her, licking his lips as he turned back to his brooding lover. Maybe she had been a bit harsh with the poor man…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk fed her cat Gouz and started to clean the house. She had to keep herself busy. She was wondering how her sensei's cats were doing. No one had fed them while he was hospitalized. She wasn't too concerned; they had a garden to hunt in if necessary. Furthermore she couldn't do anything. She knew Sasuke-sensei well enough to know that he would have trapped the house, maybe even the whole district.

Once finished, she started making food, something simple, the ingredients just falling from her hands; she wasn't even trying to make it tasty. Cooking only for herself didn't motivate her. Eating by herself made all kinds of food seem tasteless, she wasn't even hungry.

As the food cooked, she watered her plants and set the table. In front of her chair she placed her parents' headband, feeling a little stupid like every time she did, but it made her feel less lonely. She snatched her cooking, grabbed some bread and sat near her window eating numbly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke had been keeping an eye on Naruto during the whole time and slapping away potential wandering hands. Kiba and Shino had been his protection and not the fact that they had been outside; he could quite well picture Naruto ambushing him into a deserted and dimly lit alleyway to have his way with him.

As they reached the door he wondered if he should lock him out, but thought better of it. It was Naruto's home too. He pulled off his shoes, still eyeing his lover, who was closing the door, suspiciously. However his attention was diverted by meowing and scratching as their eight cats came storming on them, purring, rubbing, licking, playfully biting and showing how glad they were to see them. Itachi-cat however stood back, as if reproaching them for their long absence.

Sasuke went to the kitchen, followed by the horde and nearly tripping as they rubbed on his ankles, grabbed his pants and the like. He gave them their favorite food and tried to beckon Itachi unsuccessfully, the cat haughtily ignoring him.

"Well they don't seem to have suffered from hunger and I can't believe they would suffer from loneliness," pointed out Naruto, caressing the cats that were asking for his attention, Fifi and Cheyenne being the more insistent.

"You missed my ramen, huh? Little freeloaders," asked Naruto, tickling them fondly.

Grabbing their bags where they kept their equipment, they would have to wash them and throw away what was beyond repair, he went to the bedroom and stopped in his tracks. He didn't know if he should smile or cry.

"Sasuke," he called, hearing a grunt above the purring from the kitchen. "We have a problem," he stated.

Sasuke wondered if it was a trap but came anyway, the seriousness in Naruto's voice, even if he could detect the amusement in it, made him take the risk. He lifted a questioning eyebrow at his lover standing on the doorstep of their bedroom and gasped as Naruto waved into the room.

"ITACHI!" he bellowed, the cats that had followed him scrambling in fear.

The room was a total mess, nothing had been spared. The bedding's insides had been turned out, the sheets and curtains reduced to shreds. The books and scrolls were scattered on the floor, fortunately not too badly torn. To put the icing on the cake, there were feathers, fur, bones and blood everywhere. They had obviously used this room as their dining place and brought back all their prey inside. Sasuke had the feeling that the state of the room and the choice of room had all been Itachi's doing, the little devil. Proof being that the little monster was nowhere to be found.

Looking everywhere, sneaking under the furniture, Sasuke was hunting for his beloved cat under Naruto's amused gaze. Once flushed out of his hiding spot Itachi ran for it, Sasuke hot on his heels and finally succeeding at cornering him.

"Wait," asked Naruto, receiving a glare, "he's not going to understand, you know the action-reaction rule with cats, right?" defended Naruto, feeling bad for the cat.

Sasuke lifted both his eyebrows at that and rolled his eyes. Itachi had a pleading look in its eyes but still looked as cunning and mischievous as ever as he tried to take a French leave. (1)

"Forget it," he admitted, grinning as Sasuke swooped down on Itachi who meowed as he was seized by the nape and brought to the kitchen.

Understanding what was going to happen he began to trash wildly and meowing, trying to bite and scratch as he hissed indignantly before being unceremoniously thrown under the faucet of cold water. Once he had submitted to his lot, Sasuke pulled him out and dropped him on the laundry pile, smirking evilly as Itachi didn't even protest.

Naruto was laughing outright, sticking his tongue out at the cat as he trailed behind Sasuke to help him clean up the room. At least he knew Sasuke couldn't use Itachi as protection today. He began to chuckle evilly, eyes burning with lecherousness as he said with a coaxing voice, "Sasukeeee time for your treatment!"

Sasuke spun and literately leaped from the floor he had been scrubbing a last time and made a mad dash for the door.

"It's for your own good!" teasingly screamed Naruto as he went after him. Time for sex therapy.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk had washed her dishes and was numbly staring at the TV screen in her kitchen. In fact the whole room was the kitchen. Her bed faced the table and the window that was slightly open, letting a small wind inside the house, cooling it.

The film was completely trashy but she just couldn't bring herself to shut off the TV. It made the time pass faster and it was background noise, as if someone was speaking in the room. Her eyes were half lidded in sleep; she kept petting her purring Gouz, nuzzled against her. Maybe she should go to bed now even if she didn't feel like it and she was a little scared of wakening the neighbors.

Tapping around her, she at last located the remote control and pressed the red button. The TV screen growing dimmer to finally go dark and shut off with a small crackling noise. Gouz had stood up, her fur bristled and baring her teeth.

"It's ok Gouzie, I just stopped the-" Silk grew silent as her eyes fell on the floor where two golden irises looked at her.

Her blood ran cold and she felt goose bumps spreading on her, her hairs standing at the back of her neck. _It's going to kill me_, supplied her mind. She leapt from the bed, snatching her katana and grabbing Gouz a second before the creature was on her. She saw the glint of a kunai as it cut neatly out of her bed as her attacker came after her. Snatching the two headbands she fled through the open window running forward, hearing the sound of steel on the floor and on the windowsill, it was after her.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(1) for those who might not know (my Beta didn't) it means "to sneak away" (innuendo "like a coward" lol). In French we say "Filer à l'anglaise" and in English it's "To take a French leave"… I suppose it's because of the Hundred Years' War between England and France.

Sasuke has a TV in his room. We see it when he leaves for Orochimaru.  
And yeah, I know I'm weird and have strange ideas… but the plot bunny wouldn't leave me… so I ended up making the thing with the sex therapy (sweat drop).

**Please review! **

Next chapter: not started yet so no title.

By the way I wrote a story about Itachi and Sasuke called "Behind red eyes – Autopsy of a deceased family" if anyone is interested in reading it… and please review.


	12. Conflicts on a rain drop 2

**Chapter ****12: Conflicts on a Water Drop 2**

I'm beginning to lack ways to say thanks to my beta.  
Thanks to my friend She-Who-has-no-name for her help with Japanese words.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

I'm late, sorry. I was busy and then I was sick and busy once again (sigh). And did you notice my incredibly new title? (bangs head on the wall) I hate finding titles.  
Finally here is the chapter. I hope you will like it. Don't forget to review please.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû left the hospital without his father. Once outside he let his lungs enjoy the slightly cool air, the wind ruffled his hair like a family member would… he felt like he hadn't had any in years. Walking slowly toward his home he tried once again to find words to appease his mother, knowing perfectly well that everything would be useless.

He made a slight detour so he wouldn't pass in front of the Jis' ramen restaurant, he didn't want to see Ibara or his parents, not yet. He remembered the first time he had met Ibara's parents, he had wished they would adopt him. He had felt so guilty for even thinking of such a thing when his mother and father were still alive. What an ungrateful brat he was.

He slid the door open and went to the bathroom. Shaking a little, he stood in front of the mirror. He hadn't yet looked at himself. The bandages were still on but the medic-nin had told him he could take them off. Carefully he unwrapped his eye and his chest, never letting his hands out of his sight. Once the bandages were a puddle of white at his naked feet he simply lifted his head and stared.

His skin had been mangled. The scar ran from above his eyebrow to his chin and then from his collarbone to above his nipple. It wasn't a thin line like Kakashi's scar, not at all; it was jagged and bigger. It was obvious that it hadn't been made with a blade. Kisame had been right, the Samaheda didn't cut, it shaved.

He felt the need to run his finger over it, until it was engraved in his brain. Strangely he wasn't sad and didn't think he was disfigured. In fact it added something to his charm… maybe it made him look older? He smiled at his reflexion and cupped his injured eye. This was the proof of his actions; of his choice… it was like a trophy. He would never hide it, never.

When he found his mother she was looking at the falling night through the glass door, silent and immobile as a statue. Her useless legs were covered with a blanket, her hands folded on top of it. She had lost weight. It was to be expected, she barely ate when he was away.

"You are back, sweet life. I heard you were given another mission before coming back. How did it go?" she asked in her sweet voice.

"Someone…" it had been his father but she didn't acknowledge his existence, not even when he was giving her news of her son. As she started to turn Ryû stopped her, resting his hands on her shoulders. There was nothing to see outside but the creeping darkness and the life slowly falling asleep.

"Father lied," he felt her tense, "I was in the hospital," she was struggling to turn and he hardened his hold.

"Ryû! Sweet life! What happened? Who? _Who dared!_" her voice was frantic, laced with venom; her nails were digging in her armchair like claws.

Ryû could easily picture the alienated look on her face, the way her beautiful features had twisted in hatred; her lips curled to show teeth, the small trail of saliva bordering her lips, the dilated irises. He simply let his fingers massage her bony shoulders, waiting for the initial shock to wear off.

"Mum… I betrayed our promise. No, don't move. Listen. You sacrificed yourself for me, to protect me, to keep me safe. It was your choice because you love me, right?"

He felt his mother fidget but she wasn't trying to see him anymore. He had never asked. They had never talked about what had happened. He just had apologized countless times.

"Yes," she whispered.

"I found people I love, people I want to protect even if I have to die."

"N-no," murmured his mother, struggling once again, Ryû just kept talking, unfazed.

"Even if they'll hate me for it, even if they will cry for my loss. I chose to protect Silk because it was unthinkable to just stand there and see her die when I knew I could do something. Mum, I'm sorry," he said, stepping in front of her, letting the dim light illuminate his injuries.

At first she was silent, just staring at him, as lifeless as a statue. Then soft sobs began to erupt from her, her chest shaking as she hiccupped. Crystal tears ran down her cheeks as her face contorted in sadness to finally let out a heartbreaking scream as she reached for his face, sliding off her wheelchair as she tried to get close to him. She fell on her knees, clutching his pants, still screaming and crying as she hugged him, her paralyzed limbs awkwardly bent under her.

Ryû didn't move. He couldn't, not when she was like that, not when she was breaking him. He let her yell herself hoarse and when only sniffles could be heard he dropped to his knees, taking her in his embrace and rocking her gently, as if that could make it all better. He almost felt relieved when she moved away to run her fingertips on him, it was deliberately slow and a harshness that hadn't been there before was reflected in her eyes, still leaking tears.

"They don't deserve it," she growled, voice broken from overuse.

Ryû hid his mother's head in his neck and laid down on the floor, keeping her nestled against him; to keep her warm, to show her he was still here, to appease her and… to evade her face. He had wounded her.

"They are important, she is important, mum…" he whispered.

She was mumbling words he didn't want to hear and so he just held her tighter and closed his eyes. He hadn't noticed he was crying. He had never cried in front of her since the accident. A cold hand swept his tears.

"Mother will make it all fine."

"I'm so sorry," whimpered Ryû.

He truly was for hurting her, but he would never go back. It was too late anyway. Now he was free from all the promises… he would just do his best not to hurt her any more. He would never again take the risk of losing everything. He had always had the power to act and now he would.

When Tokage went home, he settled on the couch. He didn't want to see them. His wife clinging to his worthless son or even if she was alone, her grief-stricken face. Annabelle never acknowledged him and now even Ryû had pushed him away from his life…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They were sprawled on the floor in the middle of the living room, where Naruto had finally tackled Sasuke to give him his so called treatment. The raven was smirking as he looked at the ceiling to soon have sky blue eyes peering into his, a comfortable weight resting on him.

"How are you feeling?" asked Naruto, stroking the pale cheek and brushing their foreheads to check his temperature.

"Better," replied Sasuke, licking Naruto's nose when he moved and then catching his lips in a languid kiss. "But I will need another dose after diner," he stated, giving a shy smile as Naruto grinned.

"Ok, let's cook then!" yelled Naruto, looking a lot like Lee jumping with the power of youth, or maybe lust…

Sasuke threw him his briefs and slid into his, he still had his yukata half on. The moron hadn't even taken the time to undress him properly. Swinging his hips and whistling to himself, the blond went to the kitchen, starting to heat the water for his ramen.

The raven grabbed the scattered clothes and dropped them in the laundry basket. He smirked as he found Itachi still in it, licking its still wet fur that was poking out at weird angles glued by the water.

"You brought this on yourself," he reminded him as he received an angry look from the cat.

"Meow!" protested Itachi as Sasuke unceremoniously dropped the dirty clothes on him.

Fighting to get out, Itachi finally dug his head out and jumped from the basket with a sleeve still attached to him. He prissily stepped out of it, shaking paw after paw as he walked. Sasuke snickered and grabbed him, using a towel to vigorously dry him, almost losing it as Itachi now looked like a porcupine.

Hissing and angrily shaking himself, Itachi went back to licking his fur compulsively to try to regain a bit of his perfect looks. Sasuke was going to leave when he felt something cold in one of his hidden pockets. He had almost forgotten.

Kneeling, he coaxed Itachi to sit on his lap and pulled out the small necklace Kisame had given him. Gently he wound it around the cat's neck, making sure it wasn't too tight. Troubled Itachi scratched a little, sniffed it and tried to bite it to finally ignore it.

Not saying a word Sasuke sneaked in his brother's room, hoping Naruto hadn't seen him. He didn't want to make him worry for nothing. He opened the cupboard. The Akatsuki coat even if torn and bloody was still there, with all of his brother's belongings. Caressing the crossed leaf forehead-protector, Sasuke put down the mist-nin one next to it. He jumped slightly as he felt Itachi rub against his leg, purring.

"Don't expect me to buy a shark and call it Kisame," he warned Itachi.

Naruto had settled on the kitchen table, chuckling as Sasuke gave him an annoyed look when he entered the room.

"So what are you going to cook?" asked Naruto as he saw Sasuke open the fridge and stay rooted to the spot.

Miraculously their fridge had food in it. Shino had given them some fresh food before he left. Kiba had shrugged at this but Sasuke had been grateful. Naruto thought it was really nice.

"I don't know. I don't feel like cooking," replied his lover, still contentedly gazing at the fridge.

"Ramen?" offered Naruto, starting on his.

The raven shook his head and pulled out some vegetables. He was going to eat cold, he nudged Naruto's foot that was resting on his chair and sat, not acknowledging the fact that Naruto was sitting on the table with his legs spread in front of him in nothing but bright yellow boxers.

He began to peel his mushrooms, taking off the stems since he didn't like them, and presenting them to Naruto who picked them up with his chopsticks. Naruto had been really amused when he had learned that Sasuke disliked mushroom stems. Come on, who could like mushrooms but not the stems? They tasted the same! Regardless of Sasuke's quirks, he had made a habit of eating them; it was one of their little rituals.

Once they had finished eating Sasuke cleared off the table and dropped everything in the sink. The dishes would wait for tomorrow. He was too tired and had other ideas in mind. Naruto eyed his lover as he stood in front of him. He gave him a cocky smile, half expecting to be kicked off the table. He yelped as he was shoved on his back, still on the table, Sasuke's hands on either side of him.

"Doctor, I need my medicine," huskily drawled the raven.

Naruto wondered how just one sentence could make him this hard. He purred as Sasuke set him free, teasingly trailing his hands on him. This was rare, Sasuke wasn't one to give blow-jobs. Well, maybe because Naruto was always pretty fast in fucking him into the floor… he loved watching him yell and shout in pleasure.

"Dear, make sure not to get addicted," he gasped as Sasuke licked his tip.

Dark irises settled on him and kisses were sprinkled over his face. After a slow kiss that didn't lack passion and left them breathless, Sasuke sternly answered, "I'm afraid it's already too late."

Naruto's eyes widened at the admission. He smiled as warm happiness flowed in him. It was always complicated and subtle but it was there, all the time. And now Sasuke was becoming more open, barriers slowly crumbling.

"Sasuk-" he began but yelped and hit his head on the wood as the lips that had been hovering over his sensitive skin latched onto him. Damn Sasuke was good! He was overtaken by the sensations surging through his body. He jerked his hips forward but found that Sasuke had gripped them so he stuffed his hands in the silky strands, pressing. The nimble tongue playing him was driving him nuts and soon he was releasing in his lover's mouth, feeling him gulp down. Worn out Naruto glanced at his lover to see him drink some water.

"Bastard," he groaned.

"You know medicine always has a bad taste," replied Sasuke teasingly before giving him a peck.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Landing heavily on her legs, Silk let go of Gouzie who had already started to claw at her. She doubted that whoever was after her would try to kill her cat and Gouz was intelligent enough to be on her own. Stuffing the two forehead protectors in her shorts' pocket she tightened her hold on her katana.

Not waiting to see if the golden-eyed thing was following her she dashed for the closest safe place, her senseis' house. Running as fast as she could she concentrated so she could become intangible if the need arose. At this late hour there wasn't a living soul in the streets. Some lights were still on in some houses, people enjoying the late evening, oblivious of what was happening just outside their doors. Only when the outline of the Uchiha district came into view after she turned a corner, she glanced over her shoulder.

Two sharp golden eyes meet her mauve ones, glinting in the night still just above the floor. Was it an animal? No, no animal could use kunais. But it was slithering on the ground in fluid movements like a snake or rather a lizard. It advanced in zigzags with bent arms, each holding a kunai. She could see the glint of the steel, and a huge tail-like thing following in its tracks, scraping the floor with its dead weight. What the hell was that?

Silk sped up, her breath coming in puffs in the winter night, the cold burning her throat and lungs. Half closing her watery eyes, she crossed the arched entrance to the Uchiha district. She dived into the main street. It was the fastest way. Her heartbeats started to become even faster and the cold suddenly became harsher. She could hear her steps echoing in the silence, only broken by the howling of the wind. The trees' lurking shadows seemed to cling to her and slow her down. Behind her she felt the burning eyes of her predator.

_I should hide_, she thought, frantic and breathless. She had forgotten. Forgotten why taking a detour was so important when visiting Sasuke-sensei… the ghosts. They were still here and it was their anger that made her shiver and sucked her strength. No lights burned in here because there was no one to light them anymore. She wasn't supposed to disturb their peace.

Stumbling against a wall, Silk put a trembling hand on her breast, trying to calm down and to regain enough strength to reach her goal. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped her katana. At her feet there was a white outline, almost like a second shadow… a fallen human, a witness of what had happened. She was standing on the exact spot where an Uchiha had fallen under Itachi's blade.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke was reading on the couch, his eight cats scattered on him. Itachi proudly stretched on the raven's shoulder. Noisette and Plume resting on the couch's back. Fifi nestled on the right arm and Réglisse on the left one. Iris was on the right leg and Cheyenne on the other one and finally Tigrou between Sasuke's legs, just under the book.

Naruto would have tried to find a nice spot between them had he not just discovered a very interesting thing. Sasuke's photo album. He wanted to open it, peer into his lover's past but he didn't know if he had the right to and asking would inevitably bring up delicate memories. He heard a loud snap that nearly made him jump. He hadn't done anything but he was already feeling guilty.

"Come here," ordered Sasuke, as he dropped his book on the floor.

Naruto carefully put back the family album but froze has he heard a loud sigh.

"Bring it, moron."

Grinning sheepishly Naruto gave the album to Sasuke. He looked as the raven took it with precious care and brushed off Tigrou and then the other cats as he laid on his back. Itachi hissed and left the room. Sasuke threw a slipper at him just to piss him off. Naruto couldn't help but grin at that and then smile warmly as Sasuke held his head up and glanced at him. Settling down he let the raven rest his head on his lap. He was really a lucky moron.

Opening the album against his bent knees, Sasuke slowly turned the pages. It started with his parents' wedding. It was full of life. It was so strange to see a small Sasuke, especially a lively and smiling one. It reminded him of what he had seen under Sasuke's Mangekyou curse, especially since most of the pictures were of Itachi and Sasuke together; it seemed the youngest one always stuck by his older brother. Naruto couldn't help but make fun of some very compromising pictures and even succeeded in making Sasuke tell him stories.

They were now nearing the last pages of the album. Naruto wished it was longer… he had never had a family album. He only had two pictures, one of Sakura, Kakashi, Sasuke, and him, their team's picture, and of course, one of his team. His team… Damn. He still hadn't fully digested the news.

"You're in here too," mumbled Sasuke, kissing Naruto's knuckles.

"Huh?" replied the blonde, brushing off tears.

Sasuke sighed and flipped through the last pages. Naruto's eyes widened. There were only pictures of the same tombs, year after year. The Uchiha had stopped living after the massacre and only the graves of his clan decorated the family album. Finally he reached the end, where two pictures were facing each other. Team 7 and team 5. Naruto hadn't known, but he was part of a family album after all.

"We will take tons of other pictures, ok?" he asked voice trembling slightly. "And you have to take one with team 5 too," he added and felt Sasuke tense.

"You're not angry?" inquired the raven, tilting his head to make eye contact.

"Why? Because you took my team so that I could still see them? Because you quit Anbu for my sake? How could I be angry with you? It's not as if you stole it," reassured Naruto, flattered that it meant so much to his lover.

Sasuke snorted and turned to look at the closed album. "Liar."

"It's ok. I swear. It's just like Gaara becoming Kazekage before me. I don't have a problem with it," reassured Naruto, distractedly running his hands through the soft strands.

"But you're angry. I can feel it, Naruto," pointed out Sasuke.

Naruto slid his finders under Sasuke's neck, tilting his head so they were face to face.

"I'm not angry at you. I promise. I just… it hurts to have them taken away from me because I'm a demon holder… If only I hadn't been dumb enough to use the Kyuubi against the Akatsuki," said Naruto, sadly.

So that was it. He was fuming at the council and… at himself. He actually thought he deserved the punishment.

"Why can you forgive other people's mistakes but not yours?" wondered Sasuke.

The blonde stared, blinking and then smiled, bending toward Sasuke and…

"Hey! You bit my nose!" exclaimed the raven, jerking up in surprise.

And then they were fighting each other, rolling off the couch on the floor, in a mess of limbs, the cats flinging themselves into the fray.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk bit her lip and stepped out of the ghostly outline leaning heavily on the wall, hoping she wasn't losing too much time. Worried, she peered to her right on the direction where the thing pursuing her was coming from and nearly screamed. Dried blood. Under her fingertips, a streak of blood, some of it chipping off the wall and sticking to her skin. Was she going to repaint the wall with freshly spilt blood?

The sound of steel against pavement made her jump back into action, it was getting closer! She wanted to close her eyes; she didn't want to see the broken lanterns, the discarded wrecks of stalls. It was as if she was violating a cemetery.

Once again she stumbled and screamed as steel dug in her right heel, warm blood running down. A tribute to the dead that she might be joining soon? Twisting around, she barely escaped another blow aimed at her back. She staggered backwards, using her katana to keep her balance. Almost white hair concealed the face, only revealing furious golden irises, and then in a flash of movement, it used the kunai to turn sharply. Silk felt the tail, or whatever it was, sweep off her legs and she fell on the dirt, scratching her elbows. Rolling she prevented herself from getting stabbed, using her katana as a shield. The thing was so agile and fast! By sheer force of instinct she kicked the kunai's handle, sticking it deeply into the ground.

Scratching her knees as she hurriedly got on her feet and ran. She never got the chance to look closely at her pursuer. It was human for sure or at least half-human. She was now limping because of her injured heel and feet. She wasn't wearing shoes. Her feet were bloody. Would Sasuke-sensei be angry that she had dirtied this place with her blood?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Ow! Fifi easy!" yelped Naruto at a particularly ferocious bite.

Sasuke shook off his small assailants, petting them but wincing as he saw how his arms had been scratched and bitten. Note to self: never let the cats join them. Moulding chakra he was going to use Sakura's healing jutsu when Naruto caught his arm.

"Wait. Don't use your chakra. You need it to heal," reminded Naruto, concentrating chakra in his hands and sending it through Sasuke's body to erase his wounds.

The raven crooked an eyebrow, frowning. Naruto almost asked what was brothering him when it registered in his mind. He wasn't supposed to know how to do that because if he did… the sex therapy wasn't necessary, since its purpose was to send chakra into Sasuke's body.

"Oops."

Sasuke slapped his face with his palm, hiding a smirk. Such a moron. Grabbing him by the collar he kissed him. Both broke again and twisted sharply toward the door.

"Killing intent," murmured Naruto.

Sasuke was already on his feet, katana in hand. As they reached the front door they heard pleads and feeble tapping.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Just a bit more. She could see the lights! Only a couple of steps, she could do it! Collapsing on the door, she hit it with her palm.

"Please! Please!" she choked, breathless and so very tired, her feet raw.

The door opened immediately and she felt hands close around her waist, her face resting against a warm chest. She gripped the yukata tightly. Sasuke-sensei. She yelped as she was pushed into the house, whistling noises signalling that kunais and shurikens had been thrown her way. Then the clash of steel against steel as they were discarded, and the loud clank of the weapons falling on the floor.

Naruto had already located the thing attacking them and radiating such a powerful killing intent. Rasengan in hand he was ready to swoop on it but it had already escaped; only leaving behind the image of two golden eyes.

"What the hell was that?" he asked dumbfounded.

"I have no idea. It looked strong," replied Sasuke, closing the door and hoisting Silk up in his arms, bridal style.

She blushed bright red, feeling uneasy. She hoped that she wasn't bothering them too much, but theirs had been the closest safe place. Her nervousness went up one notch as she was carefully put in the bath tub.

"I-I'm sorry I left blood on the main street," she stammered, fidgeting with her sensei's yukata.

"It doesn't matter," he shrugged, breaking lose from her hold and pulling out a towel, some bandages and healing supplies along with some clothes.

"Naruto, I'm giving her one of your T-shirts as a nightdress," he stated, closing the door behind him, leaving Silk alone in the bathroom, obviously in a hurry.

"Make yourself at home!" screamed Naruto.

Silk smiled and undressed, cleaning herself from the dirt and blood. She hoped Gouz was ok. She would retrieve her tomorrow and go back to her life. But why had this thing attacked her? She could hear her senseis whispering and moving about in the house, maybe making sure it was safe.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I sent a bird to Tsunade-baachan," said Naruto as Sasuke came back from his round of the house; he had put up all the traps. "Who the hell would want to kill her? A rain who wants her back? But why now? Or someone from Konoha? Maybe it was because she's our student? Was she really who they were after?" Naruto went on, pacing around the room.

Sasuke gingerly sat on the couch, eyebrows frowned slightly.

"No, it would have attacked us… it wanted her," stated the raven, following Naruto's movements and beginning to feel sick.

"But why? I mean, she hasn't done anything! She's just a kid and," the blonde trailed off seeing Sasuke holding his head. "You ok?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, just tired. I'm not fully healed yet, remember?" he replied, letting Naruto sit and take him in his arms.

Tanned hands gently brushed the burning forehead and pushed chakra to counteract the poison. Sasuke leaned, eyes closed, moaning at the relief it sent. It was alright to let go here, it was safe.

"Hum… I… er…" came a timid voice from the door.

Naruto grinned at the sight. Silk was swimming in the oversized orange T-shirt that clashed with her mauve eyes and dark brown hair. She looked so cute with her slightly lost expression and her death grip on her katana, just huggable. Sasuke had tensed a little, fingers closing on Naruto's arm, opening an eye to finally calm down, even if he wasn't as relaxed as before. Naruto was impressed that he let Silk see him like this. They really had a strong relationship for him to allow her to see him in this private situation. Wait. Silk in the house… realization dawned on Naruto, he couldn't have sex with Sasuke if she was here! Nooo!

Patting the spot next to him, Sasuke beckoned for her to come. She sat as close as she dared to him, not knowing where to rest her eyes. Was she really permitted to be here? She had never seen them act this intimate, not this freely.

"What happened?" pressed Naruto.

Silk explained as much as she could the events that had led her to come seek refuge. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a perplexed look. They would have to study the traces left by the attacker to have a better idea of who it was.

"Well, it went away. Let's go to bed. We'll investigate tomorrow morning and discuss it with the Hokage," proposed Naruto, clapping his hands together.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After showing Silk to her room, Sasuke made a last check of the house and rejoined Naruto in bed, sliding under the soft covers and letting the blonde cuddle up to him.

"Do you think she will be ok? She seemed shaken," mumbled Naruto.

"Hn."

Naruto poked his lover in the ribs.

"What? You want to send her a bunshin transformed into Kakashi or what? She's a big girl," grunted Sasuke, burying his head in the pillow.

"Oh! Good idea! With or without clothes- er mask?"

The raven turned to his lover. Was he serious? Oh dear, he was!

"You perv," he accused, "you don't even know what's under the mask anyway."

"Horse teeth?"

Sasuke smiled remembering how Naruto had convinced him to try and trick Kakashi to see under his mask.

"Why don't you go sleep with her if you're so worried?" pointed out Sasuke.

Naruto grumbled between his teeth. No way was he going to go there or let her come in, he had a Sasuke to molest! Sighing and shaking his head in despair, Sasuke tried to come up with something. He wanted to sleep.

"Send her bunshin of people she likes if you want," he snapped.

"Yeah! One of you, one of me, one of Kakashi and mmm…." said Naruto excitedly, before tapping his teeth in wonder.

"One of Itachi. She likes him," murmured Sasuke.

"To help her sleep or scare her?" teased Naruto, groaning as he received a vicious hit in the ribs.

Chuckling he kissed Sasuke's nape, feeling him shiver and drift to sleep. It was nice to know Sasuke was able to joke about Itachi now.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sliding from under the covers was always hard. Naruto, even if he slept like a bear, would always try to keep Sasuke in bed, clinging, groping, and even going as far as pulling a retreating foot. Once out of the bed, the raven took a quick shower and got ready to start his morning routine.

He enjoyed the stillness of the house at dawn. The silence and the slight darkness made it so peaceful. That was when he absentmindedly performed his morning tasks, following a ritual of sorts. The wooden floor was cool under his feet, never creaking since it recognized him as its owner. Stretching a little he dragged himself to the kitchen surprised not to have been assaulted by hungry cats yet. He froze in the doorway.

Silk was in the kitchen. She had washed the dishes and was now making breakfast, cooking rice and slicing vegetables. The cats were eating next to her, Fifi rubbing against her right leg and Cheyenne trying to climb up her left one. With a half a smile Sasuke ruffled her hair, making her jump in surprise.

"S-Sasuke-sensei! I took the liberty to do some house work because I don't want to be a hassle and –" she started in a frenzy before shutting up as Sasuke lifted a finger to his lips.

Taking a knife he settled next to her to help. Itachi climbed on the counter and after receiving a glare, he jumped on the raven, draping over his shoulders, tail gently brushing his back in slow motions.

Naruto woke up to an empty bed but the nice smell of food made his stomach growl in agreement. Stretching, he deactivated all the traps, looking for traces of anyone approaching the house during the night but found none. The thing had definitely fled. He blinked as he heard a feeble meow.

Entering the kitchen Naruto found Sasuke and Silk working together in companionable silence and grinned. Giving a discreet playful slap to his lover's behind and mouthing a "you're a softy," he protected himself from any form of retaliation by presenting his buddy.

"Look what I found on our doorstep," he chortled.

"Gouzie!" exclaimed Silk almost snatching the cat form her former sensei's grip.

Naruto gave a shriek when his shield was taken away. He backed away immediately but wasn't fast enough. Veggie peelings were hurled down his shirt. Silk lifted her face from her cat's fur at the sound of yelping only to see Naruto-sensei gesticulating, arms scratching his back frenziedly as he hopped around. Perplexed, she turned to a smirking Sasuke-sensei.

"Don't mind him. He's a moron," he explained.

Once Naruto had taken out all the peelings they ate breakfast. During the whole meal Naruto tried to molest Sasuke playing footsie under the table while looking innocent until the raven couldn't stand it anymore and set Itachi on him. The blonde learned not to ever piss off Sasuke when Itachi was around. He had nearly lost a foot!

After Naruto had changed pants (Itachi had sliced one leg to ribbons) they went out to inspect the tracks left by Silk's aggressor. It was very strange. Grooves littered the ground, some at weird angles that proved the attacker had made a sharp turn. It was as if whoever it was had been dragging themselves by sheer force of their arms, using kunais as claws to move faster. You could also see were the tail-like thing Silk had mentioned had neatly swept the ground. Sasuke shuddered remembering his first meeting with Orochimaru when the man had been moving like a snake. But these tracks weren't those of a snake. They were more like a lizard's.

"Maybe this could lead us to the hiding place?" wondered Naruto.

"I doubt it, it looked cunning," replied Sasuke, crouching and inspecting the marks. The kunais hadn't left pieces of steel behind. They had to be top quality.

"I'm sorry," whispered Silk, trying to erase the tracks but seeing it was impossible.

Her blood and all theses scratches tainted Sasuke-sensei's memorial, because it was a memorial to have let this street as it was. It was unforgivable. She should have remembered. Sasuke-sensei's hand came to rest on her head, like this morning and he gave her a small reassuring smile.

"Uchiha-san," called an Anbu as he appeared in front of them.

Under the mask, sharp eyes landed on Naruto. "Isn't he supposed to be under house arrest?" wondered the man coldly, speaking of Naruto as if he wasn't there.

"We are in the Uchiha district. It's his home and I don't remember inviting you inside," he stated coldly.

Silk gave a start, feeling once again like an intruder, almost feeling her feet burn since she wasn't supposed to be standing there. She turned as she felt a playful tug at her kimono, Naruto-sensei was grinning at her.

"You are welcome here. Do you think he would have let you inside otherwise? He can be really clear when he wants to," he reassured, pointing at the anbu who was fidgeting in discomfort.

"I was sent to make a report about the attack and study the tracks and-" he trailed off under Sasuke's stony expression. He cleared his throat and walked away calmly, a little too fast to be normal but still giving the illusion.

Naruto took pity on the poor guy. Standing he dusted his clothes and shook his head.

"You're such a prick, Sasuke," he pointed out.

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Who gave him the right to enter and start pestering us? I'm the head of the Uchiha clan," retorted the raven.

"The ass of the Uchiha clan you mean," teased Naruto, a vein popping on Sasuke's face as his jaw twitched slightly.

Silk couldn't help but giggle. Sasuke grabbed her by the shoulder, pushing her gently in front of him, ignoring Naruto.

"Hey, hey where are you going?" whined Naruto, going after them.

"We have to study the rest of the tracks," replied Sasuke, passing the Uchiha district's entrance.

Naruto took a step out but yelped as a kunai nearly chopped his feet off. Today just wasn't his leg's day! He glared at his bastard of a lover, the one who had attacked him and was now smirking evilly.

"You are under house arrest, Naruto. Mind your toes," he said, waving him off as he left with Silk and the anbu.

"You bastard! I will have Itachi for lunch as retaliation!" he threatened, grinning.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They didn't find any clues as to who the aggressor might had been. The Hokage ordered a protesting Silk to keep living with Sasuke until they knew more about the matter. During the trip back to the Uchiha household Silk didn't open her mouth once. She kept staring at her shoes.

She felt like an intruder. She didn't want to impose on her senseis, especially after they had just gotten out of the hospital. They didn't understand what it was like for her. How uneasy it made her feel because… she knew she was going to like it. She was going to get used to having people around her. She would take care of the cats, help out in the house and look at Sasuke-sensei and Naruto-sensei bantering. She was going to feel safe and happy. She was going to feel at home and then everything was going to be taken away. She would be sent back to her small apartment, to live on her own with Gouz as her sole companion. She didn't want to taste this kind of happiness because loneliness would just be bitterer afterwards.

Naruto was taking a nap when he heard people in the house. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes he dragged himself to the garden, from where the voices where coming. He didn't feel Sasuke's presence, so who were the intruders? They had better not be anbu sent to keep an eye on him.

"I told you she was head over heels for me!" bragged an all too familiar voice.

"What makes you say that, Ryu?" answered Ibara, always the one to have to suffer Ryû's blabbering.

"Didn't you hear? She said I was sparkling!" chortled Ryû, poking his friend's ribs to make his point.

Naruto chuckled to himself, some things never changed…

"I would have said the same. What you did was awesome," pointed out Ibara, receiving a pout.

"Ibara… you sure you're my friend?" grumbled the blonde, sulking.

"Well technically I'm your handyman," reminded Ibara, looking fondly at his comrade.

"You know I hate you."

Shaking his head at his team's antics, Naruto stepped on the fresh grass of November. Fortunately it wasn't too cold, being near Suna gave them some advantages.

"Naruto-sensei!" greeted Ibara and Ryû, turning to him.

"Hey there, what are you doing here?" wondered Naruto ruffling Ryû's hair, eyes stopping a moment on the gash across his face and chest. He had changed clothes; he was now shirtless, wearing only a green vest.

"Sasuke-sensei asked us to wait for him here," replied Ibara.

Naruto felt his heart leap in his chest. Sometimes his lover was too nice to be true, so nice it hurt. Sasuke had gathered the team in the garden. Since Naruto couldn't go to them, couldn't even see them train, Sasuke had brought them to him.

Feeling warm and happy, he reached out to ruffle Ibara's hair and his fingers met with fabric.

"Eh?"

"It's no use Sensei. I don't have any hair," grunted out Ibara, glaring at him, tugging on his beret until it was hiding his eyebrows. Naruto grinned sheepishly.

Sasuke chose that moment to appear with Silk. Her eyes immediately darted to Ryû. It was the first time she saw him awake. Making fast hand seals Sasuke invoked Manda, who appeared in a puff of smoke.

"I will need your assistance for training," greeted Sasuke, petting Manda.

"With those brats?" sneered Manda.

Sasuke beckoned Naruto to explain the situation and gave the kids some privacy by going to get some stuff for their training. Manda curled up nearby pretending to sleep but in fact he was listening closely. He wondered how things would go.

Silk walked up to Ryû, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. Trembling she reached for his hand and squeezed it. She lifted her head after staring at the long gash on his chest and opened her mouth just to have Ryû put a finger on her lips.

"Don't say 'thank you.' We are a team!" he grabbed her shoulder. "I'm free now. You have the life that was offered to me," he smiled. He had passed his mother's life on to her. "Take good care of it. Thanks for always trusting me even if I put you in danger and for freeing me."

Silk nodded numbly, wrapping her arms around Ryû. She had been so scared for him. He had thanked her! She had always and would always follow him because with him she felt useful and she knew he would never let her down.

"From now on, I will protect you," stated Ryû, breaking their embrace to look at her.

Ibara pulled out a handkerchief to blow his nose as discreetly as he could. Naruto, who had been spying on them with Sasuke, rubbed his eyes and Sasuke snorted. Ryû gave a wink to Ibara and the thumbs up, as if he had just pulled off the coolest act ever and seduced Silk. Manda swallowed him.

Their training started after Manda spat Ryû out. He had been nearly eaten a second time for being a nuisance when he found out that Silk was to live with Sasuke because she had been attacked. Naruto thought Sasuke was going to burn Ryû to a crisp when he had proposed to sleep with her to keep her safe. They soon remembered why it was better to have Naruto as a sensei. _When I'm done with you sleep will be the only thing you will have strength for. _Those words had never been truer.

Manda, Sasuke, and Naruto took turns training the kids. It was time they all developed their special abilities and strong points. Ibara was learning water jutsus and how to combine them with his blood with Sasuke. They had agreed that he would need to carry some blood supplies in order not to faint from blood loss during a fight.

Silk was practicing her fencing with Naruto, also concentrating on being able to turn intangible whenever she wanted. Later they would train her so that only certain parts of her body became intangible and to see if it was possible for her to make someone intangible by holding on to them.

A nervous Ryû was left to train with Manda for his chakra control. It didn't make sense to Naruto and the others why Sasuke had chosen for Ryû to concentrate on that; Ryû had always been the one with the best control. Nevertheless they hadn't said a word; all trusting there was a motive behind it.

For lunch break they all ate Ibara's mother's cooking. Ibara almost begged them to help him. Mrs Ji had only cooked for her son, but she made enough food to feed at least six people.

"You need to regain your strength, egg! You lost so much blood!" she had argued.

Sasuke had a bad feeling when he came back from bringing some water. The other four were chuckling and grinning a little too cunningly for his taste. He had been right. A while later he was ambushed by the three genin. Ibara and Ryû clung to his arms as Silk made the victory sign while Naruto took a picture of them as a team, Sasuke harboring a deep scowl.

They switched trainees twice until Sasuke had trained all his students. They were barely able to stand, hiding behind Naruto who was silently begging Sasuke to halt the training with puppy eyes. They took a short break. Ibara volunteered to go with Silk to fetch some of her belongings. Naruto agreed since it wasn't too late yet.

Sasuke was laying on the pier, arms crossed behind his head. Ryû silently approached him and sat down, legs dangling above the water. It was strange how the scar made him look older and gave him a depth that he hadn't had before.

"Sensei?" called Ryû, not looking at him.

"Hn?" replied Sasuke, wondering what he wanted to talk about and why he had chosen him. If he wanted compassion and niceness Naruto was better suited.

"I'm useless to the team. I'm the one who comes up with strategies but that's it. Ibara and Silk are clever enough do it themselves. Even if I help them as much as I can… it wouldn't do much. I'm the weakest of the lot," began Ryû, seriousness and realism evident in his voice.

Sasuke kept silent, unmoving but his attention sharply tuned to his student.

"And I can't really risk my life, not like Ibara and Silk… I mean, I'm ready to die for them, but not for the mission… because I don't have the right to die," continued Ryû, still not facing his sensei. His shoulders were a little tense, as if expecting a blow.

The Uchiha lifted an eyebrow at those words, but simply waited for Ryû to continue.

"You see… my mother… she's in a wheelchair and she's… a little… only I exist for her. She doesn't recognize anyone, not even my f-father. I suppose you can say she's crazy," he said with a dry laugh.

Sasuke hadn't missed Ryu's slight misstep on the word father and how unwillingly he had used the term "crazy" to describe his mother. Once again, he gave no words.

"It's all my fault. She lost her sanity and the use of her legs to protect me. I don't want her sacrifice to be for nothing, so I can't just risk my life. I promised her."

That Sasuke could understand. He also knew that telling him it wasn't his fault his mother was in that state wouldn't help him. That was something he had to understand on his own, or something his father should tell him… even if Sasuke doubted he ever would.

"But, despite all that, I want to be useful. I want to protect people. I need to get stronger."

Sasuke smirked at those words. They reminded him of someone…

"If I'm strong enough I will be able to help more without risking my life. I will be able to protect people without saddening them with my death. Isn't it worse to die while protecting someone? I mean, it will hurt them so much… I... I always wondered why I was more worthy than her to live. Dad is so sad. He hates me... I don't want to die protecting a loved one because I don't want them to feel guilty," he explained, playing with his hands on his lap, finally peering above his shoulder to look at Sasuke.

Sitting up, Sasuke brushed off his clothes. The guilt of staying behind, the need for power. He would grow up well. The boy understood suffering even if he was still too clumsy with relationships. He needed power but didn't crave it. His heart wasn't tainted by revenge.

"You are a coward, a show-off and a brat," started Sasuke, seeing Ryû flinch at each word. "But you will make a wonderful medic-nin," he ended.

Ryu's head snapped up, eyes wide. "A medic-nin?" he repeated, startled. That was again something his father would dislike, but he knew who he wanted to follow, Sasuke-sensei and Naruto-sensei.

"Yes. That's why you need to control your chakra perfectly in every situation," Ryû gaped a little. Sasuke-sensei had already given some thought to his case, even before he spoke to him.

"For medical ninja attack is secondary. What is important is their ability to guess their opponents' attacks and evade them. You cannot afford to die because if you do, who will take care of the team?" explained Sasuke, smirking as he added, "you even have to flee if necessary. Sounds perfect doesn't it?"

Ryû gave him a bright smile. He would have jumped on him hadn't he been sure he would get hit.

"You need power?" asked Sasuke, voice cold and deadly serious.

"Yes," breathed Ryû, feeling this was important.

"Why?" inquired Sasuke, eyes drilling him on the spot, red eyes with spinning comas.

"To protect my team, to protect Silk and my loved ones," he assured.

"That's all?" pressed Sasuke, Ryû shivering under such an intense gaze.

"Y-yes," he stammered.

"I will give you power," stated Sasuke, getting up and walking away.

Just before leaving the pier, he stopped. Ryû felt his heart thundering.

"Ryû, you are growing into a fine ninja."

The blonde let his head drop, tears running down his cheeks. He had never hoped for so much.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ibara and Silk could see the apartment now. Silk had poured her heart out to Ibara, explaining how uneasy it made her to be staying with their senseis. Ibara had tried his best to reassure her. He pointed out that Sasuke would have kicked her out if he didn't want her in his home and that both their senseis seemed to love her a lot, Sasuke being particularly fond of her.

They reached the street that led to their destination. They were still chatting when Silk pushed Ibara out of the way. Both landed smoothly on a wall concentrating chakra on the soles of their feet to hold on to the vertical surface. Underneath, two golden eyes scrutinized them. Under the dim and flickering lamp they could see that the creature was definitely human, albeit strange.

Long silvery blonde hair draped the person, even when held in a ponytail. The creature had her arms bent, kunai glinting in the pale and thin hands. Her eyes were so full of hatred that they made Silk wonder what she had done to deserve such abhorrence. This time the person was wearing a mask, a simple blank mask with some blue decorations. Silk could have sworn that it was an Anbu mask. With the little light they had they could see that the creature was clad in leather like material from the waist down with a spear at its end.

What Silk had now named Nami (1), it seemed only natural to give a name to someone who hated her with such intensity, was slithering furiously underneath scratching the ground, head crooked to stare at them.

"It can't climb, right?" wondered Ibara softly.

As soon as the words had left his lips, Nami backed away and tensing sent her tail flying above her like a scorpion. The spear dug into the wall and with the momentum the rest of the body lifted from the ground. Nami stabbed the wall with her kunais to keep her balance, using them to climb up the wall using only her arms.

"Holy cow!" whispered Ibara as they dashed out of their attacker's way. It was clear that the thing was only after Silk. The golden eyes never lost track of her. He was wondering how they were going to escape when a war cry resonated.

"Clear off!" came a scream as Naruto swooped down on Nami, Rasengan in hand.

Giving a shriek of frustration the creature jumped to the opposite wall climbing to evade the man. Naruto went after it, smashing the Rasengan on a wall, hearing part of it crumble under the impact.

Nami was already on the ground dashing on the street as fast as a lizard. Naruto was getting ready to run after her when a lazy voice called after him.

"Don't be so troublesome, Naruto. I'm supposed to keep an eye on you on your trip to the Hokage-sama. You're still under house arrest you know."

"Shikamaru, sorry, but I had to help Silk and Ibara! Did you see it?" asked Naruto, pointing at the spot where Nami had last stood.

"Yeah, we will report that to Hokage-sama while we're at it," replied Shikamaru, shrugging.

He beckoned a passing by ninja and ordered him to take Silk back to the Uchiha district. But Silk and Ibara were staring at the big hole on the wall and the destroyed residence behind.

"Er… Naruto-sensei?" asked Silk.

"Yes?" inquired Naruto.

"That was my apartment you just blew off…" she said, resigned. All her belongings had been buried under bricks.

"Oops?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke was still snickering when they got to bed, Naruto sulking at being made fun of. Silk had once again borrowed a T-shirt for the night. They would have to buy some clothes for her tomorrow since all her clothes were still buried and surely dirty, if not ripped.

Sasuke had been listening to Naruto's breathing for at least an hour, wondering what was keeping the blonde awake, when a slight nudge made him start. Not wanting to admit he had been aware of Naruto's mental turmoil and even less inclined to admit that he had been worried about it, Sasuke gave a grunt feigning sleep.

"Sasuke, you awake?" whispered Naruto, sliding his hands around the raven's waist and nuzzling his face in his neck. His breath tickling Sasuke's nape.

"Hn."

"You will have to do it," stated Naruto so low his lover barely caught it.

Sasuke went rigid. He couldn't be speaking of what he thought he was speaking of, right? Berating himself for being a paranoiac Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hands.

"What?" he asked, wishing to dispel the bad feeling lodged in his stomach.

"Kill me if Kyuubi takes over," replied Naruto, voice muffled.

Turning into their embrace Sasuke punched Naruto hard on the jaw, startling the blonde, who jerked upright, nursing his cheek. The raven sat up and grabbed Naruto's shirt in a fist.

Voice low and dangerous he growled, "don't even think of it. You're not going to turn into it and I'm _not_ killing you."

Naruto snatched the hands away surprised by such a reaction, flattered too, but it had to be said. He waited until Sasuke was back in control, arms crossed on his chest, scowling and looking murderous but calm.

"I know you can, promise me… promise me you will," he pleaded, blue eyes not letting the dark ones escape.

"N-no," replied Sasuke, reaching for the blonde man and sliding his fingers in the spiky locks.

Naruto grabbed his wrists, thumbs gently caressing their crevice.

"I know I don't have the right to ask that of you… I know but… I don't know how it was for _him_," Sasuke shuddered, knowing exactly who Naruto was referring to, "but I don't want to live like that. I want to stay myself, so you _have to_."

He was greeted by silence, dark irises directed at him but looking into the void.

"You're the only one who can. You did it for Itachi. Do it for me too. Promise me," insisted Naruto, never letting go.

Kissing Sasuke gently, he embraced him and whispered in his ear, "you will never know what he wanted. If he ever fought the fact that he wasn't himself anymore… but what I want is for you to kill me if I go berserk. Promise me."

"… I promise," came the whispered response.

They laid down once again, Naruto holding Sasuke tightly. For once the raven was facing him, his face nestled in his chest. Naruto was almost asleep (his lover thought he was for sure) when he heard him, "I survived Itachi but I doubt I'll survive you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(1) Nami means "wave", "swell."

Please review!  
Really do review, it makes me write faster and well, there are around 80 people on the alert list (thank you so much!) and very few reviews (puppy eyes).

I wanted to offer a fic of their choice to the first person who found out who was after Silk, but finally it became too obvious lol

Oh! If you want some NaruSasu smut I just published a fic with lots of it lol. It's called _Bad Luck Comes in Threes_. Thanks to those who already reviewed it (smile).

Next chapter: Living With Silk.


	13. Living With Silk

**Chapter ****13: ****Living With Silk**

Thanks to my awesome Beta.  
Thanks to my friend She-Who-has-no-name for her help with Japanese words.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

Some people pointed out that the last chapter had some transition problems. I apologize about that. I finished the chapter at 2 in the morning lol  
I hope this chapter won't have the same problem and that it'll explain some parts of the last one.

Thanks a lot to everyone for reviewing! It's greatly appreciated. I'm sorry for not updating more often but I don't have time to write TT Hence, I decided to shorten this fic. I was planning to make another arc after Silk gets attacked, but I won't. I will try to finish this as soon as possible. I hope it won't seem too rushed.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto cradled Sasuke closer to him, enjoying the other's warmth and abandon. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep just yet; he had too much in his mind. Fortunately Sasuke hadn't questioned him. He never did, always respecting his silence.

He felt guilty for asking such a hard thing from his lover. To kill him… "_I survived Itachi but I doubt I'll survive you._" Those words made him happy for the love they contained but also made his heart clench. He had had to ask… his meeting with Tsunade had made it clear.

_After asking a Ninja to __take Silk back to Sasuke's place, Shikamaru and Naruto had gone to see the Hokage as planned. Upon seeing the serious face of the woman Naruto had lost his smile, Shikamaru patting his shoulder before leaving. She had tackled the subject right away. _

_"Naruto__, they have decided that we will strengthen the Kyuubi's seal in a month. That's how long we need to make all the preparations. You won't be allowed to walk around Konoha alone. I advise you stay home. Otherwise, make sure to be accompanied by an Anbu level ninja," she ordered, arms crossed on her chest. _

_"Sure!" replied Naruto, grinning, eyes sweeping over the desk he hoped one day would be his. _

_He could do that, especially since Sasuke was Anbu level. He hated this situation but he understood that this was a serious matter and that he should tread carefully. He didn't want to be locked in a room again or bring trouble to the people he loved. He wasn't as big a daredevil as he used to be. But it hurt…_

_"Naruto,__" began Tsunade, her face saddening as she leaned on her chair not looking at him. "I want you to be conscious of the danger… we will have to unbind Kyuubi." _

_The grin fell once again from his face. He slouched into a chair, passing a hand through his blond locks. He was getting tired. It wasn't like him to feel depressed, but too much was too much. _

_"Can you explain a bit more, Baa-chan?" he requested. _

_She stood up and wrapped her arms around him, crunching his face between her breasts, before pulling away and kneeling so her eyes met with blue. _

_"Most of the__ people in the room will be your allies. We will make sure everything will be ok, I promise. To make a long story short, Sasuke will enter your mind. You will let the Kyuubi take over your body as much as he can. Then with Yamato and the clan's head's help Sasuke and you will repair the broken seal." _

_Naruto let his head drop. It wasn't possible. Now he knew why Tsunade had wanted to speak to him. He stared at her, hopelessness marking his features. _

_"But I can't stay conscious when he takes over… I'm not sure I will be able to come back once I've set him free, especially if I give him so much freedom. Usually I'm locked in his cell when he's in four tails form… I don't know what will happen with more tails," he pointed out. He didn't even remember what he did when he was in that form. _

_"You will have to fight,__ Naruto and you will have to protect Sasuke too. I'm sure Kyuubi will try to kill him," explained Tsunade, gripping his hands as he shook his head, "I believe in you, Naruto. You can do it," she assured._

_"I will try__, Baa-chan. After all I can't let him hurt Sasuke-bastard," he offered trying an unconvincing grin._

_He had no choice. He would have to succeed or die trying. Sasuke would be strong enough to escape Kyuubi and… yes… Naruto would have to ask him to end his days if he lost control. Sasuke could do it. He preferred dying under Sasuke's blade rather than someone else's or risking killing everyone. _

_"Don't make such a face__, Naruto. You promised you wouldn't die before becoming Hokage, right?" reminded Tsunade before adding, "I'm not worried, Naruto. You will do it. After all you're Yondaime's son." _

Naruto smiled as he remembered those words. Yes. He wouldn't die before fulfilling his dreams. He was going to kick Kyuubi's ass! He would do anything in his power to protect Sasuke. That included sparing the raven from killing him. He would prove he was a worthy son of his father.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The sun had started his daily climb of the world not too long ago and Konoha was just waking up. People were attending to their business on the large main street, where a tall, dark-haired man walked in a swift yet collected pace. People smiled at him or bowed without him sparing them more than a glance. Behind him, following the long strides was a small girl, her long brown hair bouncing.

Silk had never really noticed that so many people were up at seven in the morning, maybe because they had never paid any attention to her. Never before had she felt so self conscious. People were whispering behind her, eyes glued to her back, even her smallest breath seeming suddenly very important. Feeling uneasy with all the unwelcome attention she stepped closer to Sasuke, gripping his yukata, almost regretting doing so as the whispers became a notch louder and the stares made her face burn.

When she had asked Sasuke-sensei if she could go shopping with him, she had never thought she would become Konoha's new center of attention. Her sensei needed to buy food and she was desperately in need of clothes and it seemed only natural for her to help around the house since she was bothering them with her presence. Maybe the most problematic part was the fact that she had timidly asked her dark seinsei for clothes… she was now walking down the streets of Konoha in Uchiha attire. He had given her the dark shorts and turtleneck he wore when he was younger.

"Did you see? She has the Uchiha emblem on her back!"

"She's walking so close to him."

"Look, he's not pushing her away!"

"They are shopping together."

"What is their link?"

"Who is she?"

Relief washed through her as they reached the small store. They would be left at peace inside. A little bell rang when they entered. The place was warm and cozy, very peaceful. She understood why Sasuke-sensei had chosen it. It was clean and the aisles were neatly organized. It seemed to have everything from food to shoes, even weapons. On the back were small changing rooms.

"Oh Uchiha-san!" exclaimed the owner, coming out from the back, bowing deeply.

Sasuke gave a curt nod, bending to grab a basket, letting Silk be seen. The man's eyes grew in wonder and he offered a small smile to her, leaning on his counter.

"And who is this little lady?" he inquired.

"Silk. My student," answered Sasuke, a hand resting on Silk's shoulder.

The owner nodded pensively, "your student," he repeated eyes twinkling. His amusement grew as Sasuke ruffled Silk's hair and told her to take anything she wanted.

Grabbing her own basket she trotted behind him. She watched carefully what he took, listing all the items in her head so that next time she could help. She added some stuff for herself and when Sasuke was in the weapons part of the shop she went to the clothing section to take all she would need. She tried on different styles of kimonos and clothes, keeping an eye out in case she was taking too long.

Biting her lips pensively, she pondered what she should take; she couldn't buy everything since it was a rather expensive shop, top quality. She gasped as Sasuke snatched everything from her hands and went to the counter.

"But!" started Silk trailing under Sasuke's gaze.

Gulping down she pulled herself together and grabbed her basket. "I will at least pay for these," she stated.

The shop owner looked impressed at her daring and half smiled when Sasuke retrieved everything once again and gave it to him. He silently packed it all, eyeing the two with barely concealed curiosity and fondness.

"You are my guest. Naruto destroyed your house. I'm the one making a living. You will only pay for items that aren't necessary. You need clothes and food. Don't argue."

After leaving precisely the right amount of money on the counter Sasuke walked out of the shop. Silk ran after him after bowing to the owner who had offered her a small brooch. She was opening her mouth when Sasuke dropped some of the bags in her hands. He knew she would have protested otherwise. They went back home still followed by whispers, Silk always walking just behind Sasuke.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Do you know everyone is talking about you?" asked Ryû excitedly to Silk as they all sat in their sensei's garden during their lunch break.

"Really?" gasped Silk, horrified.

"Yes, at the restaurant all the conversations are around the little girl that was with Uchiha-san this morning, which means you," confirmed Ibara. "Mother kept telling them stories of how nice and cute you are and father was very happy because that brought in clients." Ibara looked sympathetic as Silk hid her face in her hands.

"When I think you got to wear a shirt with the Uchiha symbol!" exclaimed Ryû, envying her.

"What am I going to do? I can't go out anymore," mumbled Silk in despair.

Ryû jumped up, took off his forehead protector and tied it on his dead eye. "Look, look! Who am I?" he asked, using his vest to hide his face.

Ibara groaned at Ryû's failed attempt to make Silk feel better as she gave her team mate a cold glare, crossing her arms on her chest.

"It suits your perverted side," mentioned Sasuke when he came back with Manda draped on his shoulders snickering at the ashamed Ryû.

"Time to go back to training."

They stood up slowly enjoying the last bit of their break and wondering where Naruto-sensei was. He would have made sure Sasuke-sensei didn't end up killing them of exhaustion.

Sasuke was wondering the same thing. He had seen Yamato-taichou leaving with Naruto but the blond hadn't explained to him what was going on. He had a fairly good idea; he knew Yamato could restrain Kyuubi. His insides were slightly torn. He couldn't help but to remember last night's conversation. He hoped Naruto was working on a way to make sure Kyuubi wouldn't take over. When was Tsunade going to be ready for the seal to be strengthened? He wanted it over with to take the worry off his shoulders. Sasuke didn't know yet of the danger such action could bring upon Naruto. The blonde hadn't told him.

Sighing, he looked at Ryû training on his chakra control and mentally winced. Once he was close to perfect Sasuke planed to train him on his special ability, Haku matsuri no jutsu which made the adversary lose all sensation. A bonus for a medic nin since it could be used as anesthesia. After that he wouldn't be able to delay it any longer, he would have to ask Sakura to train Ryû.

While in the hospital they had been cordial to each other and that was all. He had soon gotten a different medic-nin. He remembered vaguely refusing to let her approach Naruto and understood why she hadn't wanted to face him. He valued her; she was one of the few precious people he had. Yet he didn't find the strength to tell her to turn the page and find someone who would love her from the bottom of his heart. He didn't want to see her face crumbling and know it was his fault… again.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It had been two weeks already since Silk had moved in with them. Every morning Kakashi-sensei, at Sasuke's request, would pick Silk up and they would go to the cemetery together, Kakashi to visit Obito and Silk her parents' graves. Naruto would grumble and bury his head in his pillow every time Kakashi-sensei came knocking on their door. Naruto had never been a morning person and even less so since he had been training daily with Yamato-taichou to increase his control over Kyuubi. He was so drained that he didn't even try to coax Sasuke into having fun even though they were both up and Silk was gone. That was to say something!

Nami –Naruto had had a hard time accepting that Silk had named her pursuer while Sasuke being the weirdo he was had accepted it without so much as blinking– hadn't attacked again. They had a feeling that it was because Silk was always with Naruto, Sasuke, or Kakashi, but the creature had not given up. Fresh traces of her passage could be found regularly under Silk's window and not a day passed without one them feeling her around. Yet, she still hadn't been caught, proving just how strong an adversary she was.

Living with Silk was fun. Sasuke's fondness of her was so obvious Naruto couldn't help but tease him. On the other hand, Silk seemed to suffer from this situation. She helped around the house but she also did her best to not feel at home: she had her things packed to be ready to leave at any moment. Sometimes she forgot to be on her guard and truly enjoyed herself, smiling and laughing at his and Sasuke's antics… and the next minute she berated herself for it. She tried not to get accustomed to living with them and failed miserably. It broke Naruto's heart and made Sasuke frown.

Sasuke and Naruto were already at ease with her presence. At first Sasuke tensed every time she caught them in an intimate moment but seeing how it didn't change her attitude, he had relaxed. Well… mostly, Naruto was being deprived of sex because the bastard didn't even let him grope him when Silk could surprise them. At first even kisses were forbidden. This issue had been settled after a fight that had ended up with Naruto trapping Sasuke in a cupboard to forcefully kiss him and Silk walking in on them. She had blinked, shaken her head, and reminded them that she was twelve, nearly thirteen, and knew that they were lovers so kissing wasn't going to shock her. Naruto had given a cry of victory and applied himself to explain to Silk how Sasuke was an uptight prude until the raven had smashed him in the cupboard.

After a week and a half of chastity Naruto had nearly had a heart attack when Sasuke had lost it and ravished him the moment Kakashi had left the house with Silk. They had decided to work on a jutsu that would conceal all kinds of sounds coming from inside their room while still letting them hear the sounds coming from the outside. For once both of them were intent on succeeding, Naruto concentrated and Sasuke actually worked on something so trivial.

After much work Naruto was finally reaping the fruits of their labor. He had just finished the Jutsu and tested it. He had locked Fifi, the cat that meowed so loudly you could hear her from the garden, in the room and poured food in her bowl. Usually when she wasn't allowed to eat the result was loud meowing and scratching. He hadn't heard a sound come from inside the room. When he opened the door he was sure Fifi had heard the food being poured in the bowl because she flashed between his legs to reach the kitchen. Another clue was the state of the door where long gashes made by sharp claws could clearly be seen. The jutsu was perfect.

The news of Team 5 becoming the Uchiha's team and Silk staying at his house had spread like wildfire and many wanted to see the kids. The Jis' restaurant had never been so busy. It was the talk of the town. _They have to be special for Uchiha-san to want to be their sensei_._ Who is she to be able to stay at his place? Did you hear? She wore the Uchiha crest once!_ That was what had brought Naruto to the situation at hand. Silk was currently staying at Ibara's place with Ryû helping out at the restaurant and she wouldn't be back before tomorrow.

Operation "Taming Sasuke" had thus been launched. Japanese finest food? Ordered. Cleaning? Done. Relaxing bath? Ready. Half-closed curtain? Check. Scented candles? Check. Oil? Check. New sheets? Check. Books on cat's reproduction? Read. Bastard? Coming soon.

Naruto had done it all perfectly. He had thought his plan thoroughly and he couldn't see how it couldn't work. At last he would put into practice what Kiba had explained to him. This evening Sasuke was going to have the experience of his life, thought Naruto, a devilish grin plastered on his face.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke was tired and wished only for a fast meal, a shower, and his bed. After their mission, he had dropped Silk off at the Jis' restaurant, making sure that she would be escorted back the next day. As he entered the house he immediately noticed how spotless it was, not a single orange thing lying around, everything on its place, and was he smelling vanilla? This wasn't good. Moving cautiously (he just knew the moron was up to something) Sasuke reached the kitchen. His eyebrows lifted in wonder when he saw the table set and a Japanese meal waiting. He raised his eyes to meet a dazzling smile as his lover motioned him to sit down. He was dressed in an orange yukata and loose dark pants and smelled of soap. Definitely not good.

"What do you want?" he asked, glaring with his arms crossed.

"Tsk tsk tsk," admonished Naruto shaking his head, his blond locks flying around charmingly. "Just sit and enjoy, bastard."

Settling on his chair Sasuke eyed Naruto suspiciously, hands petting Itachi that had just jumped on his lap. Tentatively he took a bite (making Itachi sniff it before just in case Naruto had put something weird in it like Viagra or who knows what else) and was agreeably surprised at the delicious taste. It was too much. He had suspected Naruto would try something since they were alone but all this preparation meant that there was more to it.

"Relax, Sasuke. This is just to celebrate the fact that we're alone this evening," explained Naruto, seeing Sasuke snort disbelievingly he added, "and that I've finished the jutsu."

At that Sasuke loosened up. So that was it, he had been on edge for nothing. He would let Naruto pamper him and then make love to him, it had been a while. Naruto barely contained his predatory grin at seeing Sasuke unwind. Everything was working perfectly. It also seemed that he had chosen a good day. The raven seemed particularly tired. He would be even more receptive to what Naruto had planned for him.

Sasuke felt a pang of worry when he saw their bedroom; the romantic atmosphere was almost unbearable for the Uchiha. It was so unlike his lover it was scary. He crunched his worries reminding himself that he had decided to please Naruto. After all, whatever the moron had planned couldn't hurt him. So when Naruto didn't even try to follow him into the bathroom he wasn't concerned. He simply let the warm water pour on him and enjoyed the bath full of relaxing herbs that had been prepared for him. Feeling incredibly good he dragged himself to the bedroom, wearing only boxers, eyes half closed in drowsiness and slouched on the bed where Naruto was waiting.

"Turn on your stomach, Sasuke," requested Naruto, rubbing his hands to warm up the massaging oil he had just poured on them.

"You don't have to, Naruto," assured Sasuke, not really liking the idea.

"It will do you good, I swear," insisted Naruto.

"Listen, won't you rather…" Sasuke trailed off when he was met with foxy eyes.

Sighing he obliged, tensing just a little, confirming to Naruto what Kiba had said. He felt vulnerable in that position. Settling on Sasuke's hips Naruto began to spread the oil on his lover's back, making small circles with his thumbs. He had asked Sai to teach him how to do it. They had spent a whole afternoon reading books about it. He felt Sasuke relax and decided that he could begin the real massage.

It was the perfect plan. He would gently unknot the muscles on Sasuke's back, releasing all the built-up tension. Starting from the shoulders he would trail to the back and arms then lower, tenderly gliding on the skin between his silken fingers, until Sasuke's muscles would be like jelly. Once Sasuke turned to mush he would pound him into the mattress.

Grinning at the mere idea, he pressed on the raven's shoulders and swore under his breath. For the Hokage's sake! These weren't muscles, it was steel! He would need a bloody hammer to unknot this. Not one to give up easily he began massaging, already feeling his fingers hurting with the effort. He just had to hope it would work fast.

"Feeling good?" he purred.

"Hn. It's too light," remarked Sasuke, voice muffled by the cushions.

Naruto's eyes widened. Too light? If he did it harder he wouldn't be massaging but kneading! His poor fingers were pulsing and throbbing. Putting more force into it and leaning even more on Sasuke Naruto growled as he didn't feel any change. Would those damn muscles be nice enough to loosen up? With a vein throbbing on his forehead he rolled up his sleeves and put even more effort into it. Nothing. It was like that, huh? Fine! Almost digging his fingers into the flesh he put all his strength to the task, a look of intense concentration on his face and finally Sasuke reacted.

"Ahhhh holy shit!" screamed the raven.

Naruto would have jumped from joy hadn't Sasuke shoved him off, a hand clasped on his shoulder and rolled off the bed while swearing profusely.

"You fucking dislocated it!" accused Sasuke, glaring daggers at the stunned blond.

Thunderstruck Naruto hurriedly approached his lover. "Let me see!" he asked feeling mortified and guilty. It had been such a good plan.

Sasuke growled and protectively moved back his shoulder, shaking his head.

"No," he snapped. "I will do it myself."

He winced as he slammed his shoulder on the wall putting it back in place. Sliding down on the floor he let the pain dull a little. Naruto ran into the bathroom and brought back painkillers and an anesthetic cream. He uncapped the tube but before he could pour some Sasuke grabbed it from him.

"I rather you didn't," he pointed out, slowly rubbing it on his injured shoulder.

Naruto hung his head. He had messed it all up. Only a moron like him could dislocate a shoulder while trying to relax his lover… fidgeting he wondered how he could apologize.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the pouting and guilty looking Naruto. He had meant well. Gently he leaned and gave him a small peck, half smiling at the immediate grin he received and the hopeful blue eyes.

"Don't go out of your way, Naruto," mumbled Sasuke, moving his shoulder and sending some healing chakra to speed up the process. It didn't hurt anymore and it would soon be completely healed.

"I'm sorry," apologized Naruto, he laughed as he received a flick on the head.

"You are my everything," whispered Sasuke has he dragged the blonde onto him, kissing him passionately, hands nestling in the shiny locks.

Naruto flushed himself against him, making them fall flat on the floor. His hand carefully placed under Sasuke's head to protect him from the impact. Teasingly his fingers brushed the nipples, their lips still locked in a heated kiss that Sasuke dominated.

Parting for air Naruto began to rock slowly against the raven, hands mapping his body, squeezing the round ass and brushing the taut abs, making Sasuke shiver.

"Forget the preliminaries," growled the man, yanking Naruto so that he laid between his spread legs.

When Sasuke had lost his boxers was beyond Naruto's comprehension and he certainly didn't care as fumbling fingers parted Naruto's yukata without even brothering with the belt.

"I knew it," pointed out Sasuke, a dark eyebrow rising as a smirk settled on the pale features at the fact that Naruto was naked underneath the yukata.

"You're one to talk mister no preliminaries," retorted Naruto pinching his ass.

His plan had totally backfired but at least Sasuke was horny. Kissing him he carefully began to shift their positions. He felt his lover tense up and resist him, but he insisted. Just like every other time Sasuke became violent. He punched Naruto and fought him to get free. Standing up angrily without sparing him a look he grabbed his black yukata resting on a chair and slid it on.

Naruto breathed in and slammed Sasuke face first against the wall, using his hands to soften the impact. Naruto trapped Sasuke flushing their bodies together, his arms resting at either side of his body. But he didn't restrain him, nor did he grind his pelvis against the smooth ass unlike the other times he had tried.

"_Naruto_," came the angry snarl.

Usually he would have stopped there and retreated. The threat was clear in the raven's voice and tense body but also, now that Naruto knew what to look for, uncertainty, desire and… worry. He gently nuzzled the neck, feeling the rapid pulse. He bit down on the nape just enough for Sasuke to feel the pressure but not enough to hurt or mark.

"Trust me," he growled from deep inside his throat. "The house is protected. You have weapons at hand's reach. You're safe here. I would never put you in danger. Abandon yourself to me," he reassured still nibbling Sasuke's neck. It was a way to comfort, reassure, and claim.

The raven didn't answer. Naruto hadn't expected him to. His body relaxing was enough for him; the way the shoulders slouched down an inch, the way his breaths slowed down, and his whole body simply came to a state of almost normal awareness.

Very slowly as to not to startle his lover he let his right hand slide on Sasuke's wrist, trailing to the crook of his elbow, gracing the collarbone, brushing against a nipple and making the taut abs quiver to finally spread open the yukata and bury in dark locks to caress their hidden treasure. The other hand laced with the slightly curled fingers, making sure not to appear as if he was restraining him.

Naruto felt more than heard the sharp intake of breath. Sasuke's body gave a jerk and tensed a little. The blonde nibbled on the nape of his neck purring as nimble fingers soon had Sasuke's body fully awake. The raven was leaning on the wall now, breathing labored and quiet moans escaping him, his body rocking with Naruto's.

Trembling Naruto let go of Sasuke's hand and took out the small tube of lube he had in his yukata's pocket. Pouring almost all the content on him, he wiped his hands on a handkerchief (Sasuke hated the feel of lube on his body) and placed himself at Sasuke's entrance, his right hand still pleasuring him. With one thrust he buried himself inside the tight heat, closing his eyes at the agonizing pleasure.

Sasuke screamed, his nails scraping the wall and digging inside, his head snapping backward. Naruto froze in anguish. He should have prepared him!

"Did I hurt you? I'm sorry!" he apologized, already retreating, feeling horribly guilty.

A hand gripping his hip almost painfully kept him rooted in place. An incoherent grunt that surely meant something left him perplexed until he felt Sasuke grab his hand and settle it on his burning body. It seemed he hadn't hurt him too bad. Peering above his lover's shoulder he saw the proof of his aroused state and wondered if he had hurt him at all. Reassured he went back to nibbling Sasuke's nape and pulled out to thrust back in.

"Ahnnn," moaned Sasuke in a slurred voice, body quivering and pressing back on him, the raven's hands going back to the wall.

Naruto finally understood. It had been a sound of pleasure… it seemed that Sasuke wasn't able to restrain himself much in that position. The blonde could easily picture Sasuke's face, a faint blush making his dark passionate eyes stand out, his mouth slightly open, heated breath passing the dry lips, his eyebrows furrowed as he fought not to let sounds of pleasure escape.

Right now Sasuke was attentive to everything. All his senses were sharpened since he felt in danger, vulnerable. This was the key. His awareness made it all better, making him feel everything with perfect accuracy… every caress made stronger and more intense. He was moaning and gasping with each push, his body writhing in pleasure and out of control as he clawed he wall and met Naruto's rhythm desperately.

Naruto had both his hands gripping Sasuke's hips under his yukata, keeping them close to him as he drove inside, slamming himself against that hot and melting body. He made sure to hit Sasuke's sweet spot each time, enjoying the sounds his lover made and the way he had completely abandoned himself to him. Slowing down a little he heard gasps and saw the dark head rolling from side to side as Sasuke moved on his own, making noises Naruto had never heard. And that's when he realized that if he wanted to, Naruto could make the raven beg. Instead he went back to pounding his lover into the wall, making him scream and his back arch.

Naruto knew they wouldn't last long and indeed he felt Sasuke's walls closing on him as he reached his orgasm pulling Naruto down with him. Naruto bit onto the raven's nape and wrapped his arms around his waist before leaning on the wall, trying to catch his breath.

"So? Worth the try, prissy cat?" he teased.

The only answer he received was a hard punch on the chest making him fall on his ass, his legs still a little feeble from their recent activities. He didn't protest as Sasuke swooped down on him, straddling him and devouring his mouth. He would have to thank Kiba.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Why do you always put your futon between us?" whined Ryû, clinging to Ibara to prevent him from setting up his bed.

"Because Silk's a lady and you are a guy," replied Ibara, kicking the blonde off and burying him under the covers.

"You're one too," came the muffled voice of Ryû, a finger poking at the sheets obviously aimed to point at Ibara.

"I'm a gentleman," reminded Ibara, grabbing his friend's uncovered foot and pulling him out, sighing heavily as it messed up the bed.

"But she won't be able to jump in my arms if she's scared during the night!" argued Ryû, still lying on the floor.

"I will be there if the need arises," retorted Ibara, his team mate almost making him trip in retaliation.

"Boys?" asked Mrs. Ji entering the room with Silk, both of them carrying blankets since the nights were cold.

Ryu and Ibara were hushed up by Ibara's mother and then reminded that they had to feed Clafoutis and Chips, Ibara's newly acquired guinea pigs. The youngsters watched in amusement the small pets eat their food, stealing from each other and making small cute noises. Ryû got scolded for saying, "hey! She's got on her head what Ibara's is missing!" while speaking of Clafoutis, a Peruvian guinea pig with long hair.

They finally settled down. Ryû was sulking in his bed. Silk had her katana at hand and Ibara kept an extra pillow close by to hit Ryû in case he attempted something. Mrs. Ji gave her two little guests a peck on the forehead and frowned at Ibara when she noticed that he had kept his beret on.

"Egg," Ibara glared, "take this off," she requested before snatching the piece of cloth as Ibara clung to it desperately.

"Mum!" yelled Ibara, trying to retrieve his stolen beret but only receiving a kiss on the top of his head. Raking his mind to find a good argument he smirked.

"You don't want me to catch a cold, do you?" he asked sweetly, sneezing to emphasize his point.

"Alright, alright," sighed his mother, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

They didn't talk. They all went to sleep right away. They needed the rest after working at the restaurant all day and especially since they had training the following day. Ryû, however, was tossing and turning in his bed, unable to sleep. His scar was itching. Covering it with his hand he stood up, leaving the room silently to put some cream on it and then go to the bathroom.

He missed the glint of golden eyes reflected on the window and the pulsing of killing intent. As he went slowly down the stairs Nami silently glided in the room, approaching her unsuspecting prey.

Ibara groaned in his sleep and opened one eye as he felt movement very close to him, what the hell was Ryû doing? His eye twitched as he saw a form bent above Silk. Before he could even think he had smashed his spare pillow on whom he believed was Ryû.

Silk had woken up when Ryû left the room and a chill had settled on her. She felt like she was being watched… Sasuke-sensei had told her to always trust her instincts. She grabbed her katana, wondering if Nami was back. Making sure to look asleep she waited until she felt a breath on her face and struck.

Everything went fast from there for Ibara. He saw a katana pierce his pillow as the one he had hit stumbled and was missed by a hair's breadth. Then two hatred-filled eyes met his as a sharp pain blossomed in his arm where a kunai had stabbed him.

Silk angled her katana to slash at Nami even with the pillow still stuck on it. She tensed as she heard Ibara's pained yelp. With some white blonde hair neatly cut, Nami reeled backwards facing the two now wide awake kids. Silk had freed her weapon and Ibara was holding his forearm, dipping his fingers in his blood ready for a jutsu. Silence reigned as they eyed each other.

It was no use calling for help. Ibara's parents weren't ninjas and would only get in the way. They also had a feeling that the man supposed to protect them was either dead or incapacitated. Fleeing wasn't an option either. Nami was fast and any safe place was too far, they would get caught before reaching it. It was in the silence that they launched in battle.

Splattering blood Ibara made Nami back up but didn't succeed in burning her. They jumped to escape the tail. Silk doing a one hand cartwheel while slicing the air, scratched her adversary's clothes. Landing graciously on her feet she let her body arch backward out of pure instinct, escaping by a hair's breadth having her throat sliced open. Nami had used her spear to throw herself at her. Silk had become intangible and so she let Nami's body, propelled by her former attack, pass right through her as she moved away.

Ibara ended his jutsu. The blood prison closed in on Nami but she slithered out of it with a speed they had yet to acquire. Swearing Ibara started making hand seals for the only other water jutsu he could use. Silk was trying to buy him time by slashing at Nami's arms, but all her blows where met with kunais

"What's going on!" came Mrs. Ji's voice from the entrance, giving Silk an opening as Nami's eyes shifted to the woman.

But it had been a trap. As Silk plunged to dig her katana in the creature's arm she lost her balance when Nami turned aided by her kunai, aiming her spear at Silk's heart. Ibara sent concentrated blood on the weapon causing it to melt slightly but not destroying it completely. Silk turned intangible but before the blow could reach her a set of shuriken caused Nami to retreat her tail and back off. Ryû had entered the room.

"Ibara, block the window! Silk corner her. Mrs. Ji get the hell out of here!" he ordered, kunai and steel thread ready to try to bind the assailant.

Before they could react Nami had fled through the window, surprising them. They had never thought three genins could scare away such an opponent. Ryû dashed to window to only see blonde white hair disappearing into the night. His heart clenched. It was the first time he met Nami but she felt awfully familiar, her form, her hair, the way she moved, the feeling she gave off, and her golden eyes. It couldn't be. He shook his head. Impossible. She couldn't get out of her wheelchair and yet…

"Oh dear Hokage! Are you alright?" shrieked Mrs. Ji, her husband behind her with a frying pan in hand, obviously ready for a fight.

"Calm down. It's nothing unusual for us," reassured Ibara trying to hide his bloody arm, covering the deep wound with his fingers, blood dripping on the floor.

"Could you bring me the first aid kit?" asked Ryû giving the worried mother a reassuring smile. He went over to Ibara and inspected his wound knowingly. His seriousness and reassurance made Mrs. Ji spring into action.

Mr. Ji looked at Silk and seeing that she was unharmed went to warn the guards. Silk grabbed some towels and water from the bathroom for Ryû to clean up the wound. She sat next to him rinsing the used towels and ready to help if necessary. When Mrs. Ji came back Ryû put some antiseptic on the wound while Silk sterilized a needle. Without blinking Ryû sew the wound, Ibara not so much as twitching, and then bandaged the arm. Ibara's mother was staring at them amazed by their maturity and abilities. Obviously this wasn't the first time they had done it. Crying from relief she pulled the three into a tight hug.

"Mum, I'm injured," tried to protest Ibara, patting his mother's back awkwardly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When they learned about what had happened Naruto had had to cling to his lover to prevent him from finishing off the injured ninja that was supposed to look after Silk. Then he had had to stop Sasuke from killing the kids with intense and harsh training. He understood he was pissed off and obviously worried (he wouldn't say it to the raven's face, not wishing to end up burned to a crisp) but that wasn't a reason.

By lunch time Sasuke had calmed down but Naruto chose to stay with him and Team 5 for the rest of the day. HHe would postpone his training with Yamato-taichou for the moment. He wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway. So he just relaxed laying on the grass watching his former team interact. It seemed that they were now closer. Ryû was more involved in the team's work. They had grown up so well… he closed his eyes as he thought of Sakura. They hadn't seen each other in ages. He wished they could be back to the way things used to be. He was counting on Ryû and his medic training to help them bond again.

Speaking of the devil, Ryû was slowly approaching Sasuke who was distractedly watching Ibara and Silk train together, comfortably slouched against Manda's huge form. The kid sat gingerly next to his teacher and waited until black eyes settled on him.

"Sensei?" Ryû asked carefully, fidgeting.

"Hn."

"I need advice… it's about… about…" gulping under the intense gaze that was becoming more annoyed by the minute he finished in a whisper, "about girls."

Hadn't Naruto known Sasuke for so long and become an expert in reading him, he would never had guessed the horror than dawned on him. For a keen observer, Sasuke's eyes had comically widened; his mouth albeit closed had slightly dropped. He had leaned backward and the tension of his body told of the thought that was surely running in circles in his head: Mayday! Mayday!

Sasuke was obviously too caught up in his panic to listen to what Ryû was saying because the kid was speaking of his trouble in seducing Silk, and if the raven had been paying attention, Naruto had little doubt that Ryû would have been throttled by now… but no, Sasuke was too busy looking around frantically for a way out.

Naruto was grinning like a maniac when Sasuke's gaze landed on him, which only served to aggravate the raven further, making his eyebrow twitch and Naruto howl with laughter. Silk saved the poor man by calling him. Sasuke literally leapt to his feet in his hurry to escape Ryû's innocent question.

And so Ryû was left perplexed and alone with an amused Manda. Scratching his head, the blonde turned to the snake King, "I don't understand. He loves you even though you're only a stupid snake but he doesn't love me… can't you give me a tip for him to appreciate me more?"

Manda snorted, eyeing his caster's student with disdain, "oh, a dragon asking advice from a snake? How pitifully enjoyable." (1)

After more hours of intensive training and many clever loops from Sasuke to avoid being left alone with Ryû, the latter and Ibara had been sent home. Naruto was doing some cleaning while Sasuke and Silk went shopping for food. Silk had wanted to go alone arguing that she knew exactly what they needed and where it was in the shop but of course for obvious reasons Sasuke had forbidden her to go alone.

It had become a normal sight now, the Uchiha heir walking with a little girl trotting behind him. In the stores people had taken the habit to bend to the side to see her following, always asking news about her. "Where is your little shadow, Uchiha-san?" was the usual greeting. If you were lucky you could even catch the raven giving her a half a smile and patting her head. It always made her glow as if an existence she doubted had just been acknowledged.

That night found Naruto and Sasuke where sitting on the couch, studying scrolls about the Kyuubi's seals that had been sent to them by the Hokage. Huddled up between them was Silk, learning her own jutsus. Naruto had stretched his arm above the couch; Sasuke had done the same, his thumb mechanically rubbing the curve of Naruto's elbow. The cats were, as always, scattered in the room, sleeping.

Silk couldn't concentrate anymore. It felt weird staying here, sitting between them as if she was part of the family. She had promised she wouldn't get attached. That was why her luggage wasn't unpacked… yet she knew it was already too late. Now the question was: would she be able to take it upon herself and leave quietly? She didn't want to impose more than she already had. She knew they had had to get used to her presence, to make arrangements, and she knew that Sasuke-sensei wasn't one who liked his privacy and personal space invaded. This story with Nami made her uneasy. She had raked her brain to know why she was being attacked. She had had ideas but it was even worse because it implied more suffering… a man had even been hurt because of her.

"What's wrong?" inquired Naruto, making Sasuke poke his nose out of his papers.

"N-nothing," she replied hiding her blushing face in her scroll.

It was the way they always knew when she was not feeling well, the way they cared that made her want to stay forever and be a part of this family.

"He wasn't hurt because of you," stated Naruto, hugging Silk. "He was on duty. You're a ninja too. You know what it implies."

"You can't feel responsible for other's actions Silk," assured Sasuke, cracking his neck and leaving for the kitchen.

Naruto and Silk followed suit. Silk fully intended to help out until a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see a grinning Naruto-sensei and instantly knew he was going to go bother Sasuke. It happened often enough for her to guess.

"Don't you think he's a little too serious? Wanna laugh?" whispered Naruto, his arm draped around her, eyes glinting.

Silk wondered what had made her say "yes" when she saw with disbelieving eyes Naruto take some rice from the main dish, make a small ball of it and throw it straight at Sasuke's unsuspecting form. It splattered and scattered on the dark spiky hair. Very slowly Sasuke turned around, his hands clenched just to receive another rice ball straight on the face. Dark eyes faded to red drilling Naruto, who was making anther projectile, on the spot. Dusting his hair causing a rain of rice to fall to the floor, his eye twitched as he escaped another attack.

Silk wondered who between the three of them, was really the kid because seeing Sasuke-sensei grabbing freshly cut slices of raw fish and throwing them at Naruto's face as retaliation wasn't a very grownup reaction. They were now in a full out battle, Naruto running around the kitchen throwing rice balls while Sasuke ran after him armed with fish and vegetables. They were dodging with taijutsu moves and creating plans to trap the other, even going as far as to undergo an attack to better assault the other's head. It really looked like a real battle between two exceptional ninja except the kunais and shuriken were food and the said ninjas were looking very childish.

Naruto slipped on some fish and ended up on his butt, giving Sasuke an opportunity to catch up. Out of sheer instinct of survival he grabbed Silk and used her as a shield.

"You wouldn't dare attack Silk, would you?" he asked in triumph.

Naruto wanted to help them clear their minds. Sasuke and Silk worried far too much. Usually he didn't include Silk in their bantering or he did it indirectly since he knew it bothered her. Tonight, however, he would. He had come to a decision and this was going to be a sort of test.

Sasuke had frozen, a fish dangling from his fist, ready to be thrown. There was a lull in the battle. Naruto and Sasuke were eyeing each other, obviously daring the other to act and then Silk gasped as she felt the fish hit her square in the face. Her blood boiled and she retaliated with some rice. Sasuke dodged and threw a tomato at the now shield-less Naruto. Finding an opening Silk smashed rice on her sensei. The latter struck back immediately but missed as Naruto pulled Silk out of the way. It was now Sasuke versus Silk and Naruto.

Finally Naruto tackled his lover and Silk straddled his stomach to fling a squishy octopus to his face. Sasuke was about to get revenge when he saw from the corner of his eye Itachi-cat trying to reach his cat food, prissily stepping away from the food that littered the floor. Naruto followed his gaze and grinned evilly, meeting Sasuke's smirk as they bombarded the poor cat.

Itachi hissed with hatred, the impact somewhat lessened by the fish slice sliding from his head and the rice stuck to his fur. Silk was laughing, holding her ribs as tears leaked from her eyes. She blinked in surprise as all went black. Both her senseis had clamped a hand on her eyes and were kissing the life out of each other.

Once they had calmed down the three looked around the kitchen with a desperate look. It looked like Armageddon had just happened. Silk stood up to start cleaning but Naruto grabbed her wrist, making her fall back on the half seated Sasuke.

"Leave it. We have a team of very good cleaners," he chuckled.

Silk hadn't had the time to voice her perplexity when Sasuke was yelling, "Fifi, DINNER!"

Not a second later Fifi was scrambling into the room, almost skidding as her claws couldn't get a grip on the wet floor. She was followed by the other seven cats that swooped down on the food, eating and licking everything, not leaving a spot unclean.

"And we're not even wasting food," pointed out Naruto, looking very pleased and petting Cheyenne that was licking him clean.

Silk lowered her eyes; she had gotten caught up again, hadn't she? But she couldn't stay… it would hurt so much. Each time she voiced her concern of being a hassle, they shushed her.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After straightening the kitchen, Naruto was readying for bed, Sasuke was checking the house and tucking Silk in under the pretext of checking her room. The first time he had caught him doing that Naruto's jaw had hit the floor, but after all, Sasuke loved Silk and had always wished for children. It was only natural for him to act this way. Was he even conscious that he was repeating his mother's actions, even patting Silk's head before leaving?

Sasuke slid in bed with him. Naruto immediately dragged him in his arms. Silk had passed the test and so he was going to dare share his plan with Sasuke, yet he would have to tread carefully.

"Sasuke?" he asked tentatively, checking his lover's mood.

"Hn?" replied Sasuke.

"Say er... you want children but you haven't found a suitable woman yet and Silk… since she's an orphan... maybe… I just thought... why don't we adopt her as our daughter?"

So much for beating around the bush, he really wasn't one for subtlety. Seeing as Sasuke wasn't reacting, he wondered if he had just made a very stupid move.

"Er… Sasuke?"

He snorted as the raven grabbed a cushion and buried his head underneath it, turning a deaf ear. Poking him in the ribs Naruto exclaimed indignantly, "I'm serious, you bastard!"

"Don't speak bullshit," began Sasuke. Naruto's face dropped. He had really hoped he would agree. After all he was fond of the girl and… "She's already part of the family," finished the raven.

Naruto gave a yelp of joy, crunching Sasuke in his arms.

"I don't want Ryû as her husband then," grumbled the raven while struggling to get out of his lover's hold.

Naruto grinned broadly, laughing at Sasuke's words.

"Kakashi is our son in law then?" he inquired, trailing a teasing finger down Sasuke's side.

"No way. How about Ibara?" proposed Sasuke, kissing the blonde arm.

"How about letting me choose?" came a small voice from the door.

"Silk! Back to your room now!" they screamed in unison, hearing her giggle and run back to her bedroom.

"She's getting good at sneaking…" mumbled Naruto.

"She's got a good teacher," replied Sasuke.

"Hey don't shower yourself with compliments!" groaned Naruto, playfully punching him. "Maybe we should make her our daughter officially."

He didn't add, "before I risk my life to seal Kyuubi" but the words hung in the air. Sasuke grabbed one of his hands and pressed it to his heart.

"I will start the process tomorrow."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk had been coming back from the bathroom when she had eavesdropped on her senseis' conversation. She had had to pinch herself to be sure it wasn't a dream. Her heart had skipped a beat when Sasuke had said she was already part of the family. It was incredible how well the man understood her.

She couldn't help but make a comment as they debated about her future husband, making her heart feel warm. Giggling she ran off, launching to her bed and burying her face in it with a smile. She couldn't believe her luck. They wanted her, _her_, as their daughter. Now she wouldn't have to feel unwanted and burdensome. Even everything that was happening with Nami was ok now because she was part of the family.

Unable to sleep she began unpacking her things, taking pleasure in putting them in the drawers. She was finally taking over the room, making it hers with personal things. Now she had a home. She was sure of it. Naruto-sensei and Sasuke-sensei never said things lightly. They would keep true to their words and make it happen.

A few blocks away, Ryû was also having a hard time falling asleep. During the whole day he had been wondering who Nami was and why she was after Silk. He hadn't been able get out of his head the name of the person that would fit perfectly.

When he had come home he had gone straight to his mother. He found her in her usual spot in front of the window, in her wheelchair with a cover on her legs. Everything was normal. He had knelt in front of her smiling as she trailed her fingers through his hair, asking how his day had gone. While he told her, speaking of Nami to see her reaction, he ran his fingers on her arms, checking to see if he could find any marks. Finding none, he hid his head in her lap, apologizing to her, Annabelle asking why he had to.

He felt so angry with himself for suspecting his mother, but he still had doubts in his heart. Before her marriage and the accident she had been an Anbu leader. She had the ability to be Nami not to mention the way Nami moved. She had a motive too; she hated Silk. She always had and must have had hated her even more now that Ryû had lost an eye for her. He didn't speak of Silk to her anymore. No one would suspect her because apart from him, his father, and some medic-nin, none knew of his mother's condition. In fact, everything fitted perfectly.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In a matter of three days the news had spread like gun powder. Sakura had been tending to a patient when a Jounin told her that Sasuke had made a request to adopt Silk. Until then she hadn't paid any attention to the gossip. She dropped the phial she had been holding and ran out of the room, sliding down a wall and burying her head in her arms.

So it was happening. When she had confronted them about their relationship, she had angrily told them that they would never have children. Now they were realizing their dreams and she had heard from Neji that Sasuke planned to rebuild his clan with surrogate mothers.

"Sakura-san? Please come. The person in charge of the adoption process wants to see you," asked the Jounin, looking at her strangely.

They were going to ask her opinion about Naruto and Sasuke as their former team mate. She knew the adoption process was pretty hard. Surely Sasuke and Naruto would have to interview with a psychologist and the like. She also knew some people would stand against them adopting Silk. The girl wasn't even from Konoha in the first place.

Dusting her clothes she entered the room where the council was. It was an important matter. She avoided Tsunade's gaze. Surely her Hokage had expedited the process, especially since the day when the Kyuubi was to be sealed was fast approaching.

"Haruno-san, please sit down," said Ronin, the one responsible of adoptions.

She obliged, twisting her fingers and looking straight ahead. Some of the clan heads were there with other less important people albeit powerful. Mr. Tokage was one of them. It was obvious from the look on his face that he was against Silk's adoption and from the small smile he gave her she could tell that he was counting on her to be on his side.

"Haruno-san, you've certainly heard of Uchiha-san and Uzumaki-san's desire to adopt Myôjô Silk. I want to hear your opinion on the matter," asked Ronin.

She looked around the room, catching Tsunade's questioning eyes and receiving a nod from Tokage. She tugged on her clothes a little. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Ronin again.

"They would make wonderful parents," she answered in a broken voice.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"This Uchiha really is doing things his own way!" angrily muttered Tokage, slamming the door behind him.

Ryû sighed heavily while he made dinner for the three of them, as usual. His father hadn't let up since he had heard of Silk's possible adoption.

"To think he's going to adopt that girl," growled Tokage, never referring to Silk by her name.

Clenching the knife in his hand Ryû kept chopping his vegetables, imagining they were his father. He wondered if he did it on purpose since he knew Ryû had feelings for her. After Ryû's outburst in the hospital, father and son avoided each other most of the time. Still Tokage kept saying nasty things.

"She's not even from Konoha. Really Uzumaki has been a bad influence on Uchiha-san. I'm beginning to wonder if he's not one of your kind," Ryû gritted his teeth, chopping with even more force, "to think this… this girl is going to be adopted by such a clan. She must be happy. Her manipulation worked perfectly."

"Don't speak of her like that!" yelled Ryû, smashing the knife on the table, "and she has a name!"

Tokage looked triumphant, leaning on the door frame to face his pissed off son. Too caught up in their dispute none of them had noticed the sound of the wheelchair. Annabelle had been listening to them for a while looking at her son.

"Oh yes, Silk, wasn't it? She was as smooth as silk to trap Uchiha-san on her net, wasn't she?" he asked, smirking.

They didn't see Annabelle's eyes fill with hatred. They didn't hear her leaving in her wheelchair. That pest had succeeded in making one of her dreams come true. She didn't deserve it! She had taken Ryû's eye. She was the reason he was wearing a scar. It was time she died! This time nothing would get in her way. She would kill them all if they tried to stop her.

Holding on to the furniture she dragged her dead legs off her wheelchair, dropping to the floor. Crawling she reached under her bed for a small box; she pulled out a scroll and unfurled it. Biting her thumb she let a drop of blood fall on the drawings. A puff of smoke engulfed her and her equipment began to appear around her. Each of her limbs was supported by metal rods, allowing her knees to bend if she used leverage to attack. Then leather wrapped around her legs, binding them together. Leather enfolded the rest of her body to protect her; it was as strong as a lizard's skin. Around her arms and chest belts with kunais appeared, followed by another one to make sure everything was held tight. Finally her white Anbu mask settled on her face.

Ready she slid out of the house, not using kunai so as to not leave behind any tracks. Passing by her son's bedroom she smashed the two frames containing Team 5's pictures with their two senseis. Tonight blood would flow.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

(1) Ryû means Dragon.

By the way Tokage means lizard… reminds you of someone? Lol  
Clafoutis and Chips are She-who-has-no-name's guinea pigs. Clafoutis is a French kind of cake (fruit baked in batter).

Thanks to Fantasycharter for finding Ronin's name.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  
I drew Silk, Ibara and Ryû in their adult version:  
(Silk) http:/lisea18(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Silk-70708716  
(Silk colored) http:/lisea18(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Silk-colored-70709005  
(Ibara) http:/lisea18(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Ibara-70708843  
(Ryû) http:/lisea18(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Ryu-70708965

Please review!

Next chapter: Nami


	14. Nami

**Chapter ****14: ****Nami**

Thanks to my awesome Beta.

Thanks to my friend She-Who-has-no-name for her help with Japanese words.  
Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

I know Yamato is in reality named Tenzou, but to keep it simple, I will always refer to him as Yamato.

Sorry for being once again awfully late. My Beta and I had a lot to do in our everyday life. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They were still waiting for the adoption department's approval, but Sasuke and Naruto seemed certain that they would succeed. During the process they had had to see a non-ninja psychiatrist. That had been a rather… funny experience, especially when she had asked about Sasuke's childhood. Naruto had gulped at the sensitive question while Sasuke had simply spoken about the massacre. Three seconds later Naruto was rolling on the floor laughing as the poor woman asked if Sasuke had: "how can I phrase it… do you have… feelings of… let's say revenge?" The raven had simply stared at her. They had left the office wondering if they hadn't scarred the woman for life.

They were so sure of the outcome that Sasuke had already given Silk Uchiha emblems to sew on her clothes. He had even started teaching her the katon jutsu on the pier. Naruto had whispered to her the meaning of it making her blush from happiness.

Feeling a little guilty for not giving her anything yet, the blonde decided to make Silk a nightdress. He decorated a big orange T-shirt with bowls of ramen, Uchiha fans, and spirals. Then he wrote "Naruto and Sasuke's daughter" on the front and on the back "Uchiha Heir and future 7th Hokage! Ps: after Uzumaki Naruto, the 6th!" Sasuke slapped his head when he saw Naruto's present.

"Don't you think you're pushing it?" he asked.

"Me?" inquired Naruto, looking all innocent.

Sasuke then took a big dark T-shirt and decorated it with orange spirals and Uchiha fans. On the front he wrote: "Perfectly sane despite the fact that I have a crazy blonde spiky haired father." With a smirk he added on the back: "Ryû, if you touch her, I will KNOW" with Mangekyoû Sharingans on each side of the sentence.

Silk put away both nightdresses with precious care. She was waiting for the adoption to become official before wearing them. It was funny how in just three days things had evolved from her standing aside to her becoming part of the family. When she heard Sasuke calling her she gave a last stroke to the two nightgowns now safely stored in a drawer, and left her room to join them in the kitchen.

She was conscious of what being an Uchiha meant. She had seen how people treated Sasuke. She had felt the pressure when they had seen her with him. She would make her new parents proud. She would live up to her new name. And she would make the village know she was worthy of the title. She had gotten an idea when she overheard Naruto and Sasuke speaking of their offspring.

"Sasuke-sensei, could you pass the salt?" she asked still deeply caught in her thoughts.

"Ttt ttt ttt. Silk, forget the 'sensei' when we are at home," corrected Naruto, grinning.

Sasuke nodded in agreement. Naruto scratched his chin pensively, shaking dripping chopsticks toward Silk under the annoyed gaze of the raven.

"Mmm what should you call him? Father? Aniki? Nii-san? Uncle? Cousin? Grandpa?" Sasuke rolled his eyes as Silk giggled madly. "I know. Mum! Ouch!" yelped the blonde as Sasuke smashed his head in the bowl of ramen.

Silk sighed in consternation while Naruto shook his arms madly trying to get his head out of the bowl, to no avail since Sasuke's hand kept it firmly inside. The blonde's muffled groans, which were undoubtedly curses, only made the raven smirk. When Sasuke finally let a pouting Naruto with sauce and noodles dripping down his face breathe again, Silk decided that there would never be a good time and chose to just speak her mind right then and there.

She cleared her throat to get her quarreling fathers' attention. Naruto was trying to poke Sasuke with his chopsticks and eat at the same time. The latter slapped his hands away while trying to eat without splitting anything despite the continuous assaults.

"I want to be a surrogate mother," she stated.

There was a loud bang when Naruto lost his balance and fell from his chair and Sasuke choked on his sushi.

"What?" asked Naruto, blinking owlishly while rubbing his injured head.

"I want to bear Itachi's child," she explained.

"You can't reproduce with a cat," pointed out Naruto earning a withering look from his lover for making fun of such an important subject. "You've been eavesdropping again."

If you didn't want to be overheard you just had to put on that jutsu you use when you're… having fun," stated Silk, making both men slightly blush in embarrassment.

"Why?" asked Sasuke with his arms crossed and he wasn't asking why she wanted Itachi's child instead of his. After all it would be weird if it was his.

"He saved my life and I want to help you with your goal… and it would make me a real Uchiha," she explained.

"Won't your future husband dislike that?" pointed out Naruto not finding many arguments to oppose since she seemed to have thought it through.

"Then he's not worth being my husband," she replied haughtily.

Sasuke smirked at that. Naruto groaned. She already had the Uchiha's way of thinking. Dear Hokage, he was going to be living with two Uchihas… Lord have mercy!

"Fine. But you will wait until you are 21. Think about it carefully until then," agreed Sasuke going back to his food.

Silk blinked. She had expected more… opposition. That was when Itachi chose to enter the room, hissing angrily at the little ball of fur following him, rubbing against him and meowing in adoration. Naruto and Sasuke looked perplexed at each other. They had never seen the dark brown and gray kitten before.

"Oh that's Châtaigne. She thinks Itachi is her mother," explained Silk. Châtaigne corroborated it by trying to feed from Itachi.

"From all the cats we have, she had to choose one of the only males," chuckled Naruto, grinning at the hissing and clawing Itachi, the little Châtaigne still attached to him in utter worship. Served him right!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ryû had been looking for his mother for a while now. He knew she went out sometimes but never for so long and never during meal times. He was getting worried. She wasn't in her room either. Aside from a scroll spread out on the floor, the room was empty. When he checked his room he froze as the glint of broken glass caught his eye. Someone had smashed his picture frames on the floor. All the pieces then fell into place. The open scroll, blonde-white hair, an old Anbu mask, the creature dragging herself with kunais. Nami.

Ryû dashed out of the house. He had told Sasuke-sensei about his mother on the pier. Maybe he would understand on time… before killing her. He was sure Silk was safe with Naruto-sensei and Sasuke-sensei… or maybe not. He had talked so much about them with his mother. He hoped he would make it in time. He had to hurry but first he had to stop by the Jis'.

"IBARA!"

Ibara was checking out the new equipment he had just received, a shoulder belt with clasps to hold his blood supplies. His mother looking at him with the proud-scared look mothers have when they see their children are growing up. He was attaching the blood reserves he had filled up to his belt when he heard Ryu's call.

Jumping on his feet, he grabbed the blood he hadn't yet fastened and ran out of the house under his mother's startled and concerned gaze. For Ryû to call his name out like that it had to be very important. He could hear the urgency and panic in his voice.

Ryû, knowing Ibara would answer his call, didn't wait for him and ran ahead. Ibara simply followed, using a burst of chakra to speed up and catch up with his friend. The moment he did Ryû sped up glancing at him.

"Silk is in danger. Mother's going to kill her," he explained.

It didn't really make sense to Ibara but it seemed safe to assume Nami and Ryû's mother were the same person. Now what in the world was going on was a whole other business.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naruto washed the dishes and Sasuke cleaned up the table, so Silk decided to take out the garbage. Putting down the bags, she opened the door wide enough just for her to get through. It was cold. The chilly air made her shiver and hasten her pace. After putting the bags inside a bin, she blew on her hands and turned back to find shelter in the warm house. Reaching for the door her hand stopped as a now familiar feeling swooped down on her; she raised her gaze to meet golden orbs. Nami was crouched on the roof.

The next moment she had been pushed away as Sasuke and Naruto appeared, having sensed the killing intent. The Rasengan missed Nami but served its purpose sending her toward Sasuke's katana.

A loud crack echoed in the silent garden, making birds fly away hurriedly. Cut neatly in two pieces the anbu mask adorning Nami fell on the floor, blood dripping on the pale face, making the golden eyes shine brighter.

"Impossible," murmured Sasuke and Ryû's words came back to him.

_"You see… my mother… she's in a wheelchair and she's… a little… only I exist for her. She doesn't recognize anyone, not even my f-father. I suppose you can say she's crazy. It's all my fault. She lost her sanity and the use of her legs to protect me. I don't want her sacrifice to be for nothing, so I can't just risk my life. I promised her." _

She wanted to kill Silk because Ryû had gotten hurt.

The moment of surprise and comprehension almost cost him his life as Nami slashed at him with her tail. Naruto seeing Sasuke falter caught him by the back of his yukata and pulled him, saving him just in time. He then saw Nami's face and understood why the raven had stopped. She looked just like Ryû. Stumbling in Naruto's arms, Sasuke parried a blow while Naruto summoned a Rasengan.

"Be careful. She's Ryû's mother," stated Sasuke. The blonde nodded.

Silk inwardly cursed the fact that she didn't have her katana, but at least she had some kunai. She threw them at Nami trying to keep her away from her senseis, no, parents. It was strange. Usually she only had eyes for her. Why the change? She was backing them into the house. She couldn't be…?

"Watch out!" screamed Silk, but it was already too late.

As soon as Naruto and Sasuke stepped inside Nami set off the Uchiha traps. Avoiding the traps just in time, Sasuke threw his katana to Silk before being locked in his own house by his own traps.

"Fuck!" swore Naruto, "do something, bastard!"

"I'm working on it, moron," replied Sasuke.

Once triggered the traps couldn't be released from inside so that a spy couldn't help enemies enter. Sasuke would need time to disarm them but he knew it was going to be ok. He and Naruto had trained Silk and she had Kusanagi. She was an Uchiha now. She wouldn't die so easily.

Silk stared at the now visible face of her adversary. It was incredible how much she looked like Ryû. Her face had the same curves and it was just as smooth. The only differences were the paleness of her skin and hair… and the hatred in her eyes. It was strange to have Ryû's eyes, Ryû's face looking at her with such abhorrence. At least now she had an idea why she was being targeted, because Ryû had lost an eye and gotten a scar because of her weakness.

Had she known it before she would have let herself be killed to atone for it, but now she had a family and friends. She couldn't let Ryû's mother kill her. It would hurt Ryû and her fathers would feel guilty. She couldn't be killed because that meant being weak. She would prove to this lady that she was stronger now, that she would never let Ryû be hurt for her sake again, that she would become stronger and stronger. The way to make up for Ryu's sacrifice wasn't dying, that was the coward's way. To make amends she had to crush her weakness.

"Please, Kusanagi, let me handle you and give me strength. I will return you to your master," she whispered to the sword.

It was a little heavier than her katana and it felt stronger too but unfamiliar. Letting the tip of the blade touch the floor she calmly faced Nami, ready for anything that might come.

"Nami-san, I apologize for needing Ryû's protection that time but it will never happen again. I have grown," she told her enemy, giving a small tap on the floor to gain momentum as she dashed on her.

Nami wasn't the kind of adversary she could defeat. She knew it perfectly. Kabuto had been a close call, and they had been three. She was alone against Nami and she had a feeling that the woman had been stronger than Kabuto and that madness compensated greatly for her current handicap. The way she had trapped her senseis was proof of how strong and cunning she was. Hence, Silk was only trying to buy time and survive.

Soon her body was littered with cuts, but Nami wasn't unharmed either. Silk had had some closed calls. She used her power to become intangible to avoid the deathly attacks, but she had to be careful since she couldn't use it too often. She saw Nami preparing to use her tail as a propeller. She stuck it on the pier's planks and used the momentum to throw herself at Silk at an incredible speed. This time, however, Silk was ready; making the seals she released her chakra.

"Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Nami couldn't avoid the attack completely. Her shriek resonated in the cold night. All birds had flown away and silence reigned in the garden. Some of her hair and forearms had been burned slightly; Nami sent a withering look toward her prey.

Naruto gasped as he saw the attack, wondering if Silk could still use her jutsu to become intangible. He was fidgeting while looking, completely powerless, at was what happening just under his nose. He gave a loud cheer of victory as Silk sent a katon jutsu on Nami effectively stopping her attack.

"Believe it!" he screamed to Silk, shaking Sasuke's shoulders as he jumped up and down on the spot.

"Will you stop that!" snapped Sasuke while he tried to release the house's traps.

"She used Katon and made Nami back off!" chortled Naruto.

Sasuke looked up from his work, an interested look on his pale face. "Really?" he asked, now following the fight. He felt the worry that had snuck up on him ebb away when bloody rain began to pour.

Silk had immediately turned intangible as the incredibly condensed mortal rain fell on her, burning holes in the ground. She had never seen it this strong. Nami was backing away, the steel on her not enough to protect her. With the tip of Kusanagi gracing the ground Silk dashed, shooting past the distance between her and her adversary. It wasn't real rain, but it gave her strength because just like the rain, it was something that protected her, something that proved people loved and cared for her. Reaching the distracted Nami, she avoided the spear aimed at her and cut it neatly in half.

Naruto pounced on his lover, crushing him against his chest. The latter didn't protest. She had grown up a lot.

Silk winced as a kunai slashed at her side, cutting deep into the flesh. Holding the wound she held her ground. Ibara reached her just in time and sent a blood-dragon on Nami that missed her but succeeded in putting distance between them and sending her straight into Ryû's trap.

"Haku matsuri no jutsu (white festival no jutsu)!"

Having shut his mother in a world where all her senses were reduced to nothing, Ryû launched himself at her, holding her tight against him as the jutsu wore off. That effectively stopped her as her eyes landed on her son.

"Stop, Kaa-san," he pleaded, not adding anything because he had already explained to her that it had been his choice. He knew she wouldn't listen, that she didn't want to understand.

"Let go, sweet life!" shrieked Annabelle, her voice deformed by hatred as she threw a kunai at Silk.

Naruto, finally free, snatched the kunai before it could reach any of his students. Silk was leaning on Ibara, proud of her performance but sad at the angry woman that was struggling in her son's embrace, still trying to reach her.

"Enough, woman," ordered Sasuke, looking coldly at the one who was threatening his newly founded family.

Their eyes met, red against gold. Annabelle knew it was now or never. He had the same eyes as her, a desire to protect so strong that he would destroy anything that stood in his path. He was the Sharingan bearer who had lived to avenge his family. She saw the madness concealed under those spinning comas, lurking and ready to be released. If she didn't kill the girl now, she would never be able to now that those eyes had took her under their protection. She leaped out of her son's hold that had slightly slackened when she had relaxed.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Do you think he is ready?" asked Tsunade, leaning on the balcony, looking at her peaceful village.

The wind was ruffling her hair, bangs passing before her eyes, strands being stuck in her mouth, as if trying to envelop her in a cocoon away from the reality that worried her. She brushed it aside. She had to face reality.

"He made incredible progress during training, Hokage-sama," replied Yamato, standing up straight, arms crossed behind his back.

She could see all the people in the streets slowly readying for the night, closing shops, cleaning the streets. The guard on patrol to make sure everything was safe and that nothing would trouble the villagers' sleep. All of them were her children, precious lives she had to protect even if it meant dying. One of them would soon be in mortal danger and most of those souls didn't care at all, even wished for this beautiful one to disappear. Was it wrong to be concerned for one above everyone else even for a short period of time? Wasn't it her duty to protect everyone if possible?

She wasn't looking at Yamato or at the village now. She was seeing the past. Her brother, her lover, both of them dying under her very eyes… then Naruto, the way he had protected her, believed in her, and survived the necklace's curse.

"But he might not survive," she whispered into the wind.

"He has a reason to live. He won't give up," assured the man, faith clear in his voice.

But would that be enough? Her brother and Dan had had dreams, reasons to live and they still had died. She wanted to believe him. She truly did, but she knew fate sometimes had other plans. The image of a childish body torn beyond belief, the cold, cruel words from Orochimaru, her own team mate, and the way her world had crumbled around her resurfaced in her mind. Even the belief that he hadn't suffered had been denied to her. She could tell he had been in pain.

"The Uchiha won't let him die," pointed out the man.

Yamato's words were true but she knew that there was just so much one could do. She could still hear her lover's words as he closed his eyes slowly, holding her hands, blood trickling from his mouth. She had known that he wouldn't make it and still she stubbornly had tried to save him. She had given her everything to preserve his last breath and had lost the battle, utterly failed. None of the reasons for her to believe, Naruto's strength, his family's strength… nothing could loosen the knot in her stomach. Holding her breast, she turned to Yamato flashing him a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I will bet on his death," she said, leaving the balcony to go back into her office, the anbu following her silently.

Since she had such bad luck, she would lose and Naruto would survive, right?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He caught her arm in a death grip, stopping her in her tracks.

"You should understand!" she yelled, voice breaking as she saw the steel in his eyes.

"Yes," he replied, sending a Chidori Nagashi through Nami's body.

White-blonde hair fanned on the ground as she fell like a broken doll, her lips parted in a soundless scream, her eyes dilated, her face white as porcelain. She had dropped to the ground, unconscious but alive. Sasuke released her wrist, letting the arm fall on her chest, long fingers finally letting go of the kunai.

Ryû had closed his eyes and looked away, not able to face the scene. Ibara and Silk had both wrapped their arms around him. Silk leaned her head on the blonde one, one of her hands still pressing on her bleeding side.

"Well done, Sasuke-kun," said a feminine voice from behind them.

"Sakura-chan!" exclaimed Naruto, surprised but happy to see her. He hadn't had the chance to thank her for her statement at the adoption trial. She gave him a small smile.

"You used just the right amount of electricity," stated the pink-haired medic-nin, checking Annabelle's vital signs.

"Hn," replied Sasuke, arms crossed on his chest, looking at the other three medics in his garden.

Ryû stood up, cowering under Sasuke's gaze and pushing Silk to one of the doctors so her wound could be taken care of. Then he went to his mother. He held her hand while Sakura strapped her on a stretcher, just in case she tried to flee when waking up.

Ibara was amazed that for once he hadn't had to cut himself at all. He had even managed to make a dragon with his blood using the water dragon jutsu Sasuke-sensei had taught him. Having bags of his blood with him had been a really good idea.

"Are you sure about your decision, Ryû?" asked Sakura, avoiding her team mates eyes, which shifted to the blonde boy at her words.

"Y-yes," he replied in a quivering voice. "I… I think that's the only solution," he added, lowering his head and biting his lips as tears gathered in his eyes.

Naruto knelt in front of him, holding his shoulders and grinning gently. He didn't know what was happening but visibly it was hard on the child, and Sasuke wasn't one to come and reassure him.

"I'm sure you made the right choice, whatever it was," said Naruto confidently.

Ryû nodded, glancing at Sakura. Sasuke followed his gaze and lifted an eyebrow in a silent question. She smiled at the old habit, it felt like before. Maybe all had been put behind now?

"He informed us about his mother's condition and asked us to take her under our custody at the hospital," she explained.

Ryû had gone to the medic-nin just before fetching Ibara. He had asked Sakura because he knew she had been part of his senseis' team. Even if their relationship had been tense lately, knowing that she had stood in favour of Silk's adoption had made him trust her. He had always tried to protect his mother, and so did his father. No one but a special doctor, bound to their family, had known about Annabelle's mental state, but the situation had gotten out of hand. If she tried to kill people he couldn't take care of her anymore. He had never considered her a burden, not even a duty. She was his mother and she needed him… yet this, he couldn't bear on his shoulders. He had to resign himself to this decision.

"Father isn't going to be happy about that," he winced softly in Naruto's hold, breaking free and going back to his mother.

"I'm sorry, Kaa-san," he whispered in her ear, following the medics as they took her away. Sakura stayed behind. He didn't apologize to Silk or the others. He knew they understood. He wasn't responsible for her actions and he couldn't have guessed sooner. He would let Sasuke-sensei explain everything.

They let him go. Silk felt a bit guilty but found strength in the belief that Ryû didn't blame her and that she had Ibara and her fathers. One day, Nami might forgive her. She would work hard to earn this forgiveness.

Sasuke explained in a few words the situation to Sakura, Naruto, Ibara and a now healed and eavesdropping Silk, to be aware of all the details. Sakura asked some questions so she could fill in the report, once she was done she fidgeted on the spot, giving Naruto a pleading look.

"Ibara, I will walk you home!" he chortled, scratching his neck and pushing Ibara. "Silk, you need some rest."

Sakura smiled at him in gratitude, mouthing that they would talk later. Naruto waved at her with a foxy grin. The pink-haired woman turned to her old love, because it hadn't been a crush, and smiled shyly, feeling a lot like the little eleven year old she had been.

He hadn't changed much; he was still as cold and collected as ever, even more breathtaking now that he was an adult. Now his face was more peaceful. His eyes had regained something that they had lost twice. The first time had been his family. The second was when he had left them behind. When she had met him at Orochimaru's lair, he had lost the spark of life Team 7 had given him. Now he had it back, stronger than before, different than when he was with his family, but still there. Even if other feelings lurked in the shadows, as long as this warmth stayed in his endless black pools everything would be alright… her only regret was that she hadn't been the one to put it there.

She wasn't going to apologize because she had been hurt, truly hurt. Licking her dry lips, she peered at Sasuke and saw his subtle niceness, like it had always been in their young years. He was waiting for her.

"I'm not the one who can bring you happiness, Sasuke, but I will try my best to contribute to it," she simply said, summing it all up in those simple words of truth, knowing that he would understand all that was underneath.

He nodded walking back to the front door. She followed.

"I heard of your intervention about Silk," he stated. Sakura smiled as she heard the 'thank you' behind his words.

He opened the door for her and she left. She hadn't expected anything more than his forgiveness and she had received it. Sasuke was Sasuke and he wasn't one to hug her, even if she wished for it. After a few steps she heard the low voice of the raven call after her. She turned, gazing at his unreachable form.

"Sakura, you should find someone worthy of your love," he advised before adding, "and don't forget we are a team."

She looked at the door closing on Sasuke's gentle half smile and let her tears pour. 'We are a team' meant so much to her. It meant '_I will protect you.'_

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

People usually advise to "sleep on it," and that was what Tsunade was trying to do lying immobile in her bed, the covers tucked up to her chin, hands crossed on her stomach, eyes tightly closed as if that would force sleep to claim her. The darkness behind her eyelids only served as a screen to the events of the day running in circles in her mind. She had gambled, as promised, on Naruto's fate. Then a teary-eyed Sakura had come into her office to report about the Nami incident and Tsunade just knew that the first thing she would have to deal with in the morning was a pissed off Mr Tokage. As his face appeared in her mind she opened her eyes.

Right now though, gazing at the ceiling, she wasn't too concerned about that matter. No, she was thinking about the letters sitting on her desk, only waiting to be reread and then sent. The convocation to reseal the Kyuubi. She had already started the preparations of the room where the ceremony would take place and she had chosen the Anbu who would insure the village's safety. So many people would have a part in the event that she wondered how it was to be kept secret, not that it truly mattered. If it helped people believe in Naruto, she was ready to make the whole thing public… but if something went wrong, she couldn't risk so many lives and for Naruto's memory to be tainted. She winced at her own thoughts. She was already thinking about him dying.

She let a sardonic smile grace her face in the night. At least this whole thing had had a positive effect on the committee's decision regarding Silk's adoption. The dignitaries, the assholes, had made sure the adoption was agreed to and fast. They knew that if Naruto died, their precious Uchiha might turn rogue again and this time destroy Konoha in his grief. So, they were very concerned about giving him another reason to love Konoha and to stay mentally stable: Silk.

That was the only letter she would be glad to send out in the morning, the approval for Silk's adoption. Sasuke and Naruto had to come to her office to sign the papers that would make her their daughter officially. Well, Sasuke's daughter to be precise but she considered Naruto and Sasuke as a married couple. She had prepared a document stating that if Sasuke died, Silk and the Uchiha fortune – since she was the legal heir – would be entrusted to Naruto. The council had grudgingly accepted. They were so busy worrying about losing their only Sharingan that they were easily convinced.

"What makes you smirk like that?" asked a familiar voice from her window that nearly gave her a heart attack.

"JIRAIYA, you hentai!" she screamed, jumping on her feet, breasts almost bouncing out of her nightdress.

"Nice… nightdress," said Jiraiya, a slight blush on his face and fingers twitching to grab a pen and his note book.

Tsunade's cracking knuckles made him look back at her face really fast, an apologetic expression on his features.

"What are you doing here?" asked Tsunade, sitting on her bed, enjoying the sight of a fidgeting Jiraiya.

"I couldn't miss Naruto adding a member to his family!" he exclaimed, tapping his foot on the floor and throwing his hand in front of him in a weird pose.

The Hokage pinched the bridge of her nose wondering just how far the news had travelled. She had a feeling that lots of curious people would gather to witness the adoption. That had sort of been planned; it would keep people's minds off sticking their noses in other more important and secret business.

"Besides, I thought I would save you the time of sending me a bird," added the pervert-sanin in a more serious tone.

He wrapped a comforting arm around Tsunade's shoulders as he saw her crumble, worry almost making her look her real age.

"Trust him, Tsunade. You don't have a choice," he stated without giving her any arguments about Naruto's strength and stubbornness. She knew them well.

"Lower your hand one more centimeter and I'll break your ribs," growled Tsunade, making the man freeze his slow descent and bringing a half smile to her face. She was glad he was there.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Feeling like a ninja in a secret mission – well he was a ninja, but that was beside the point – Naruto crept along the walls of the sleeping house, making sure not to make a sound. It was ten in the morning. Silk needed to sleep after the previous day's events and, even if it was unusual, Sasuke was still dead-asleep. He hadn't even moved when the blonde slid out of bed… well maybe the fact that Naruto had jumped him all night long had something to do with it.

Naruto was heading for the mailbox on tiptoes since he didn't want to wake the cats either. They would be incredibly loud since they hadn't eaten yet. He froze when he noticed Itachi sprawled on a table looking curiously at him.

They locked gazes and Naruto could have sworn he saw him smirk as he stretched and pushed the vase off the table with his head. Reflexes kicked in and he dashed, sliding on the parquet floor and snatching the vase just before it crashed. Then he pulled out of his yukata his anti-Itachi-cat weapon: Châtaigne, the kitten who had invited itself to their house and had chosen Itachi as her mother. She was used to sleeping at Sasuke and Naruto's door. He had taken it with him when he left their room. The striped cat gave a small happy meow and launched itself on a hissing Itachi.

"Main obstacle cleared," chuckled Naruto.

Reaching his goal he grabbed the pile of letters, sorting through them very fast to see if one of the two letters he was expecting had arrived. One he dreaded, the other wasn't arriving soon enough. But here crumbled between his fingers where two letters adorned with the Hokage seal and addressed to both of them. That made him smile.

He grinned as he noticed one letter was slightly crumbled. That had to be the one he was dreading. He opened that one first. He had been right; it was the convocation for the Kyuubi's sealing. It would take place in one week. He hoped Yamato-taichou would agree to some more training. He then looked at the second one, his heart thundering with doubts. He knew there was little chance that it had been denied, but… there was still a risk.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke awoke to Naruto buried deep in his body, rocking him to consciousness, moaning and pumping his hips in time with the blonde's rhythm. Naruto was biting his nape, their fingers laced as he drove in and out. Naruto felt Sasuke arch, his fingers clenching around his. He increased his hold on his nape, nibbling a little.

"Sasuke," he whispered in a hoarse voice.

He didn't want his lover to mistake him for someone else. Sasuke was dangerous even when writhing under him. Releasing one of the raven's hands, he snaked his arm around his waist, hoisting him up as he sat. With a low growl of pleasure Sasuke spread his legs sitting lower on Naruto's lap, moving on his own. Arching he threw his head backwards, resting it on the blonde's shoulder, letting him nibble at his sensitive throat. Sasuke laced his fingers behind Naruto's head enjoying how it forced his body to stay arched.

Arms still wrapped around the raven's waist, he let his other hand trail up one arm until he reached the long neck. Climbing to the parted moist lips, one finger teased the lower lip before pushing inside. Sasuke obliged licking and sucking the fingers, chewing gently until they left to pinch his nipples and then enfold his neglected intimate part, sliding on the tip, using the precum there to help the pumping motions.

"Naruto," moaned Sasuke, a clue to his approaching release and a silent demand.

"Anything you want," replied Naruto thrusting faster and harder tightening his hold.

Dark eyes sought blue and the blonde took the pale lips in a fiery kiss, stifling Sasuke's shout of ecstasy as his body yielded to Naruto. The latter following close behind, riding their orgasm. Sasuke let his arm drop at his side, leaning heavily on Naruto's chest as he took back his breath. Nice waking up technique he had to admit.

Naruto gently began to pull out but a hand griping his nape made him stop. He purred as Sasuke tilted his head to kiss him languidly. The raven's other hand resting on top of Naruto's that was still around his waist.

"Stay," he ordered.

The blonde blinked, surprised at the request. He didn't move, greatly enjoying staying buried in his lover's tight heat. Nuzzling his face in the crook of Sasuke's neck, he wrapped his arms around the thin waist. He grinned as hands came to rest on his; the raven's thumbs gently rubbing his skin. Sasuke's body completely relaxed.

"Let me guess, they said yes," stated Sasuke, smirking as Naruto nodded trailing kisses on his neck and shoulder.

"And did you receive the _other_ letter?" he asked, already knowing the answer but using a questioning tone anyway.

"Yeah," replied the blonde, making a clone to bring the letter. He wasn't moving anytime soon after Sasuke had accepted to stay like this! Then it registered in his mind.

"Oh, that's why you're being so nice," he caught himself before adding "and mushy."

"I figured you had a _very_ good reason to wake me up with this particular method," he drawled, pinching the blonde's wrist for good measure.

He snatched the letter the clone was offering to him, not raising his head from his reading as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"In one week then. And about Silk?" he inquired.

"I left the letter under her door," explained Naruto, "it's this afternoon at five."

Nodding Sasuke got up, feeling Naruto slide out of him. Mumbling at the loss Naruto got up too, employing himself to change the sheets while Sasuke took a shower. Once both of them were clean and dressed, Sasuke went back to sitting on Naruto's lap on the freshly made bed.

"I wonder when Silk will wake up," mused Naruto.

As if on cue they heard a yell of pure joy coming form Silk's room followed by loud meowing, then soft padding and scratching. She gave a quick knock and pushed the door open with a huge smile on her face and hungry cats on her tracks.

"They said yes!" she screamed jumping on the bed and hugging them both, the cats rubbing and purring loudly.

Sasuke awkwardly patted her head as Naruto hugged her back crushing Sasuke between them. Pulling away, blushing a little, Silk sat on the covers bouncing with excitement.

"Can I ask Ibara and Ryû to come?" she asked.

"Sure! Tsunade-baachan will be there, maybe Jiraiya too. I will ask Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, and Konohamaru to come! Teushi and Ayame too! Also the other teams, right Sasuke?" Naruto enumerated, listing them happily.

The raven nodded, kissing his knuckles before leaving the room to make breakfast and feed the cats. Naruto suddenly realized that Sasuke had no one to invite. His family was dead. Everyone loved him, but no one was very close to him, not that Sasuke had helped either. He had no one of his own.

"Naruto, I have an idea," piped Silk, having guessed his thoughts.

The blond bent to her and they discussed their plan in whispers with grins on their faces.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They had agreed to let him stay the night; Sakura had made sure he was allowed to. His mother was still sleeping since they had sedated her. He didn't know how she was going to take the fact that he had decided to have her committed. He felt like he was fleeing from his responsibilities even if he knew he couldn't stop his mother from trying to kill Silk.

As soon as he reached the house he went up to his room hoping to catch some sleep. It was already 10 in the morning but he had spent the whole night holding his mother's hand and apologizing to her unconscious form.

Ryû didn't even take the time to undress; he laid on the bed and brought the covers up to his chin curling up in a fetal position.

Half an hour later, he didn't move when the door slammed open waking him up, yet his fingers tightened their hold on the covers.

"Ryû. Where were you? And more importantly, where is your mother?" asked Mr Tokage dryly.

"She's in the hospital," he mumbled and since he didn't want to anger his father even more he continued, "I had her committed because she was Nami, the one trying to kill Silk."

He heard the gasp but he wasn't expecting the blow that sent him flying from his bed, hitting his head on the wall and dropping to the floor in a tangle of blankets. He didn't even have time to pull himself together when Mr Tokage had already caught him by the collar, shaking him with narrowed eyes.

"You had Annabelle, your mother, the one who gave up everything for _you_, committed? For that stupid girl you call your team mate?" he shrieked.

"I couldn't let her become a murderer! And I couldn't let Silk die!" he yelled back, trying to pry off his father's fingers.

He wasn't listening to him. Throwing him against the wall again he began pacing the room angrily mumbling to himself. He would exist even less for his wife now. Maybe he could find a way to free her? But it would be hard. She had attacked someone, someone who was to become an Uchiha soon.

"I'm sorry," whispered Ryû.

He winced as he received a hard slap that made his head turn and split open his lower lip.

"You should have thought of that before. You ungrateful little shit!" hissed his father, eyes narrowed to slits.

He had thought about it and he knew it was the only reasonable solution. But he still felt guilty for his mother and for his father. He deserved to be at the receiving end of his father's anger. He deserved the punishment.

Tokage stormed out of the room when the doorbell rang. Ryû followed but hid so that whoever it was wouldn't see his injured lip and his swollen cheek. The Ji family was standing on the doorway. Ibara was looking around for Ryû and immediately spotted him. After a polite salute to his father, he went to Ryu and pushed an ice pack in his hands.

"How?" murmured Ryû, moved.

"You don't have to be a genius to understand that he would have been angry about your mother," explained Ibara. "Silk's adoption has been approved. They will sign the papers this afternoon. You are invited," he continued before being cut by Ryû, who was looking at his father and the Jis having a heated argument.

Mrs Ji kept looking his way, eyes frowned. Ryû angled himself to hide his injury from her using Ibara as a shield.

"That's great, but… why are your parents here?" he inquired, worried.

"You're coming with us."

"But it's only morning and the signing isn't until the afternoon," pointed out Ryû, blinking.

Ibara shook his head, laying a hand on his shoulder, "you're coming with us to stay, Ryû, at least until _he_ calms down."

"What? I…" began the blonde, lost, and not believing his ears.

He couldn't finish his sentence. His father grabbed his arm and dragged him to his room. Ryû was surprised when he didn't feel pain under the strong hold. He seemed calmer.

"Pack your things and go with them. I can't stand you anymore. I will send you enough money for you to live. You work with them at the restaurant," ordered Mr Tokage before leaving the room without saying goodbye.

Frozen on the spot Ryû felt hot tears pour down his face. Irritated at them he tried to brush them away. He felt arms embrace him from behind. Layers of clothes pressed against his back, some covering his face as Ibara's mother hugged him, almost encrusting him inside her clothes, sheltering him.

"It will be ok, Sun. Had we known about your mother we would have acted sooner. Everything is going to be alright. Despite appearances, your father loves you and your mother will understand your choice. We will take good care of you. You're already so close to Egg," whispered Mrs Ji rocking him slowly. "Go ahead cry. It's normal, Sun. Just let it all out. No one will judge you."

Sun? Because of his eyes and hair he supposed. He could hear Ibara packing his stuff. He didn't know how he felt. Happy to leave a place where he was sad and seen as nothing more than a hindrance to go where people cared for him, or hurt and betrayed knowing his father didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore.

His mother had always made sure his body wasn't injured, but flesh injuries closed and healed with time. Some left scars but they didn't truly matter. She had never realized how many injuries and scars littered his soul, and those didn't heal fast and disappeared. Those were the ones that mattered. Just like for real wounds you needed someone to cure you… he needed to see Silk.

"I'm so glad that she's going to be adopted by them," he said.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk looked at herself on the mirror. She had to look perfect. She had put on a deep blue kimono with the Uchiha fan on the back and held at the waist by a belt also adorned with the Uchiha crest. Her hair was down but carefully combed, small blue pearls glinting through the strands. Kakashi's katana was secured on her belt.

Everything was ready and her fathers were waiting for her. She had been training until late with Manda in preparation for hers and Naruto's plan and to keep her mind off the ceremony. Checking her reflection on the mirror one last time, she left her room.

"Ready?" asked Sasuke, looking even more amazing than normal even if his outfit wasn't very different from what he usually wore.

"Yes," she said looking around as if searching for Naruto even though she knew she wouldn't find him.

"He went to get Kakashi-sensei. We don't want him to show up too late," smirked Sasuke, enjoying the mere idea of his lover trying to make their sensei be on time. Now he just hoped that the moron would _be_ on time.

Holding his arm out for Silk, he gave her a half smile as she timidly caught it. They had decided to teleport right in front of the Hokage tower. That way less curious people would invite themselves to the adoption ceremony. He knew Tsunade had let the information leak out to detract attention from the Kyuubi's sealing, but that didn't mean he had to help them get on his nerves.

The moment they set foot on the ground in a puff of smoke and whirl of leaves a loud cheer exploded around them. Sasuke barely had time to register the huge crowd before him when someone grabbed his arm and pulled them inside.

"It's so troublesome," grumbled Shikamaru as he closed the door, leaning on it as if that would prevent the crowd from entering.

"Come this way, Sasuke, Silk," motioned Neji, the one who had saved them.

"Where is Naruto?" inquired Shino. They had decided that Shikamaru, Neji, and him would be the ones welcoming Sasuke. They were his friends and the calmest. The girls already sniffing with tissues in their hands and the others were too emotional and lively for the quiet man.

"Kakashi hunting," replied Sasuke smirking.

He tensed a little when they entered the room and everyone turned to look at them. It was only friends, but it was a lot of people. He didn't look around to find the familiar face of a loved one; he had no one to look for.

"Where are your team mates?" he whispered to the fidgeting Silk.

"Maybe Naruto recruited them for his hunting?" she offered, hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions.

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow. She was a little too tense even around him. Naruto and her had to be up to something. His senses screamed even more as Silk gave Iruka-sensei a pleading look to come and try to make him talk. He would throttle Naruto.

Fifteen minutes later Tsunade arrived ready to have them sign the papers but Naruto was nowhere to be found. Everyone was getting worried as Sasuke's eyebrow began to twitch, a vein popping on his forehead and his dark eyes drilling holes on the Hokage's desk.

Everyone turned as one at the sound of loud voices, fighting, and other unidentifiable noises coming from the corridor. All eyes were locked on the door, ears perked up to find out what was happening. Sasuke was able to identify some people by their voices.

"Whaaaaaa don't let him escape! Jump on him if you have to!" that was Naruto for sure.

"He's biting me!" that one was Ryû.

"Ah! You got it! Kakashi-sensei you're the best!" Naruto again, he was the loudest one.

"Watch out! Some are getting away!" Ibara now.

"Shit! Where is the shrimp? Use the shrimp!" back to Naruto.

"Do you have all of them?" Ah Kakashi-sensei, with his cool lazy voice.

"I can eat one if you want." It couldn't be. Was it Manda?

"Don't scare them! You're worse than Sasuke!" Naruto…

Silk began to chuckle. Others suddenly started having coughing fits until finally Sasuke went to open the door. Naruto was sprawled on the floor trying to prevent Fifi and Cheyenne from escaping. Ibara was holding Noissette and Plume with Gouz draped on his shoulders looking at the scene in front of her. Ryû was sucking on his bleeding hand, Réglisse and Iris pressed against his chest and Tigrou stuck between his feet chewing on some shrimp. Kakashi was standing with Châtaigne in the crook of one arm, sleeping peacefully. At the end of his other arm was Itachi hissing and clawing. Undoubtedly he had been the one who bit Ryû. Manda was curled around them as a fence to stop the cats from going too far.

"Uh hi," said Naruto sheepishly.

Silk ran to them and helped them get the cats under control. She thanked Manda for staying hidden after her training. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head but a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Naruto had brought them as representatives of his family, the moron.

"Itachi, that's enough," he said. The cat glared at him before climbing on his shoulder with bristled fur as Kakashi released him and grabbed Tigrou so Ryû could walk. The cats were still struggling so Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Tenten each took one. Lee and Neji took the rest so that there was only one cat per person. Kiba was scratching Akamaru so that he would stay put, hoping the cats wouldn't freak out.

"Well are you ready _now_?" growled Tsunade, tapping her foot on the floor.

"Yeah, yeah. We're coming, old hag," replied Naruto taking out a slightly crumbled picture and handing it to Sasuke.

It was a picture of Sasuke's family; you could see Fugaku, Mikoto, Itachi, and Sasuke all smiling. The older version of the youngest on the picture stared in disbelief before meeting blue eyes and a fox grin.

"Well they are Silk's grandparents," he said scratching his head and clearing his throat before walking briskly toward the desk at the other end of the room. Sasuke followed with Silk trotting between them, smiling as they mumbled insults to each other.

"Moron."

"Bastard."

"Show off."

"Prissy cat."

"Will you shut up?" Silk sighed, glaring at them both.

They stared at her with wide eyes before exchanging an amused glance. People chuckled in the crowd.

"You sure she's not your hidden daughter or something?" muttered Naruto wrapping an arm around Silk's shoulders.

"Yeah sure I had her when I was five. They had already anticipated Itachi losing it," replied Sasuke ruffling Silk's hair.

"Hey! I did my hair for the occasion," she complained rolling her eyes as they were back to bickering and mussing her hair.

"Are you sure you can put up with both of them?" asked Tsunade when they reached her desk.

Two glares and a nod later, they were finally signing the papers. Sasuke and Silk wrote their names on the scroll with their blood. Naruto, as keeper in case something happened to Sasuke, signed as well.

"You are now Silk Uchiha, daughter of Sasuke Uchiha and heir of the Uchiha clan," stated Tsunade, people cheering, and cats mewling.

"And future 7th Hokage! After me of course," added Naruto.

"She might succeed before you, moron," teased Sasuke, the blonde shrieking and pointing at him.

"Teme!"

"And now get the hell out of my office!" snapped Tsunade slamming a fist on her desk, a huge smile on her face.

Everyone left for the party that was being held in Sasuke's garden after Manda gingerly agreed to teleport them to the event. Everything went well for everyone except for Sai, who got smashed in a kiwi-punch for asking if Naruto, Sasuke, and he could have a threesome, and for Ryû, who had snuck next to Sasuke while he nursed a drink looking distantly at Silk with a half smile.

"Can I call you father in law now?" he ventured.

"Certainly," drawled Sasuke taking a sip of his drink before staring down at Ryû with Sharingan eyes, "if you have a death wish."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**Next chapter: The sealing** (almost done, so I really really hope you won't have to wait too much for this one!)

Châtaigne (chestnut) is She-who-has-no-name's newly adopted cat. I thank her again for her help and for cheering me on this story.

Thanks to Fantasycharter for finding Ronin's name.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Please review! I need the reviews!

- BONUS: The Truth Behind Silk's Adoption -

Since I came up with Silk's character I decided to have Sasuke adopt her. The problem was figuring out how she would end up living with them. Here is a small discussion I had with inner Lisea about it… warning: utter madness lol

Lisea: I need to find out how Silk will end up living with them…  
Inner Lisea: Burn her house?  
Lisea: no… I will use that for Naruto to move in with Sasuke. I can't use it twice, it will look weird.  
Inner Lisea: you can say there is a pyromaniac in Konoha?  
Lisea: yeah and in fact it's Sasuke! He was doing that on purpose to have Naruto and Silk living with him! The little manipulative bastard! … maybe not…  
Inner Lisea: ok, ok let's find another idea…  
Lisea: I know! Nami will destroy the apartment?  
Inner Lisea: agreed!

-Later-

Lisea: yeah, Nami was planned all along too, and in the end it was Naruto who blew up Silk's apartment when fighting Nami.  
Inner Lisea: and in fact Sasuke had asked him to do it so Silk would be forced to live with them!  
Lisea: … we're back to that, aren't we?  
Inner Lisea: you don't have to tell the readers… :p


	15. The Sealing

**Chapter ****15: ****The Sealing**

Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!  
Thanks to my Beta and She-who-has-no-name.

Happy New Year! I'm sort of late again –sigh– life is really catching up with me.  
For those of you who were wondering no, I haven't planned to write a sequel for this story... sorry. Next chapter will be the last.

Dear **cfox**, you have a message at the end of the chapter.  
Dear **Missy777** you have my answer to your review at the end.

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Gaara and his siblings had sent a letter of congratulations to Naruto and to Sasuke's amazement he also received one from Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu. They told him that they had asked to join Konoha since Juugo was still looking for a cure to his madness. Under Naruto's inquisitive gaze Sasuke explained that they had been his team mates when he had been looking for Itachi and that they had helped him collect the information he had sent to Konoha during the two years he had been gone after Orochimaru's death. (1) He was surprised that they were still together; he had figured that Karin and Suigetsu would have killed each other a long time ago or that Juugo would have killed them both in a fit of madness.

It had been three days since Silk's adoption and Ryû's moving to Ibara's house. In two more days the Kyuubi's sealing would take place, but only those concerned had heard of the news. If information had leaked, no one spoke of it.

Silk had made herself at home. She wore the Uchiha symbol proudly and trained to live up to the honor of being an Uchiha. She had started invoking snakes and frogs, which created quite a fuss since the two races didn't particularly love each other.

Life went on peacefully, even if some tension could still be felt with Naruto training everyday with Yamato-taichou to increase his chances. Sasuke kept his mind blissfully occupied with his team and the short missions they had.

Ryû had been given the room next to Ibara's so he could have some privacy. Everything was going well for Ryû. He helped out in the restaurant and fully became a part of the family. He went almost every day to visit his mother in the hospital. Their relationship hadn't changed much. Everything was like before as long as he didn't mention Silk's name. He hadn't seen his father once, even though the freshly cut flowers he found everyday in his mother's room told him he came to visit.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was the dead of night when Ibara slept peacefully in his room, Chips and Clafoutis barely making noise as they moved in their cage. Team 5 had just come back from one of those boring missions in the late evening and he really needed his sleep. He wasn't particularly thrilled when Ryû crept into his room and kicked him awake pulling back the covers to make sure he woke up. Freezing, since it was December, Ibara sneezed and glared at Ryû, all the while thinking of tidying his bed and going back to sleep.

"Come on, we're going to see Silk," whispered Ryû throwing Ibara his clothes jumping around silently as if he had just eaten an eel.

"At four in the morning?" inquired Ibara obediently dressing up, amazed at his capacity with putting up with the blonde.

"It's time I start courting her for real," explained Ryû looking dead serious.

"At four in the morning?" pointed out Ibara once again. Ryû rolled his eyes at the repeat question. Was he obsessed with time or something?

"I'm afraid she won't be very… receptive," added Ibara sighing as he was dragged out of his house. "And what do I have to do with the courting?" he grumbled as they walked on the deserted streets, the cold wind making their breath come out in white clouds.

"You're here in case there's any trouble and to help me. You're the gentleman, remember?"

Had he had the smallest hope that it would stop Ryû, Ibara would have stood rooted on the spot. He was a gentleman and that's why he didn't want to do go! But he knew he would only be dragged anyway, so he just kept going hoping Sasuke-sensei wouldn't skin them alive.

Hiding behind a tree, as ordered, he was looking in disbelief at Ryû throwing small stones at Silk's window. The young girl soon poked her head out, wearing only a long black T-shirt with a strange marking on the front. Her katana was clutched in her hand. The pale moonlight illuminated the slightly blurry outline of a short blonde.

"Ryû?" she asked, surprised, worry crossing her face. Had something happened? She was ready to jump over the window frame.

"Yo!" saluted the blonde waving dumbly at her.

Ibara's jaw dropped to the floor. Throwing a stone at his friend's head he whispered, "don't be rude!" Seriously, who said 'yo' at four in the morning in the middle of winter after throwing stones at someone's window?

"Ow! I mean, nice night, fair lady," corrected Ryû, kneeling on the frozen ground.

Silk crossed her arms on her chest giving him a cold glare, "I was sleeping, you know?"

That seemed to take Ryû by surprise. Turning to Ibara he mouthed, "what do I say? Ibaraaaaa."

Could someone remind him why he was Ryu's friend? Racking his brain as Ryû begged with his eyes and kept mouthing in panic, "what do I say, Ibaraaa?" he finally came up with one answer that he had once read in one of his mother's play anthologies (2). He couldn't come up with something of his own since he wasn't a genius. He whispered the words, the wind covering them from Silk's ears but not from Ryû's.

"Oh, pity me," repeated Ryû standing up and pacing under the window.

"Why should I?" inquired Silk leaning on the window frame.

The blonde glanced to his friend, the latter simply prompting another part of the play.

"Love grew apace, rocked by the anxious beating. . .  
Of this poor heart, which the cruel wanton boy. . .  
Took for a cradle!" declaimed Ryû, the words coming to his lips easily and sounding true.

Silk bent a little, trying to catch Ryû's figure in the night. Had he eaten something weird? And why did he keep looking somewhere else? Maybe he was making sure Sasuke was nowhere near.

"Why do your words sound so familiar?" she asked.

As Ryu turned to him once again, Ibara shook his head. He didn't have a reply for that and couldn't follow the play anymore. Ryû bit his lips and stepped back a little.

"Because they are words of love I have murmured to your sleeping ears so many times they have become acquainted," he tried.

Ibara blinked. Looked like Ryû actually had some wit! When Silk smiled softly and let her hand drop to brush the golden eyed boy's hair, Ibara figured there was no need for courting anymore. Now Ryû had to concentrate on taming the protective father. He sat listening to the exchange. Silk letting her team mate speak, Ryû not always using the right words but their sincerity making up for it.

"Please allow me to woo you as a man should a woman," requested Ryû brushing Silk's fingers without lingering.

"What words would serve you?" asked Silk, head abandoned on the crook of her arm.

The cold night was illuminated by the moon and the stars, their light highlighting the frosty glint of her suitor's golden hair and eyes. Instead of a cracking fire, she had the soft cracking of the frozen leaves under his feet.

Worried about messing up, Ryû turned to Ibara once again. This time he was able to help. There was a nice retort from the play to such a question.

"All, all, all, whatever  
That came to me, e'en as they came, I'd fling them  
In a wild cluster, not a careful bouquet.  
I love thee! I am mad! I love, I stifle!"

Ryû discreetly gave him the thumbs up, turning his back to him as he recited the words. Ibara was going to prompt more when another person beat him to it whispering words that Ryû simply repeated, before realizing their meaning.

"I am only a poor dim rich kid. A coward who always puts you in danger to save his unworthy life. I would really love to play Icha Icha paradise with you and if it'll make you happy I can dye my hair grey to look like Kakashi," proclaimed Ryû, his eyes widening in horror as he realized what he had just said.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke opened an eye as he felt two presences nearing his house. He straightened up slightly at the sound of stones hitting Silk's window. Naruto groaned, grabbing his waist and pulling him back to bed mumbling incoherently.

"What the hell?" wondered the raven as he heard Ryû and Ibara.

Naruto simply covered his head with a cushion. Sasuke climbed out of bed, scouting over the window and discreetly observing the scene. He shook his head, amused. Knowing his lover would love it, he nudged Naruto until the blonde opened an eye frowning.

"S'suke?"

"Ryû is playing Romeo with Silk and Ibara is prompting him," explained Sasuke, going back to spying on the three kids.

"You're kidding?" chuckled Naruto rushing to his lover and craning his neck to see, grinning like an idiot at the scene.

Seeing an opening, Sasuke took Ibara's place offering words that would make Ryû look like a moron. He smirked evilly as his student dumbly recited them. Naruto clamped a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"I am only a poor dim rich kid. A coward who always puts you in danger to save his unworthy life. I would really love to play Icha Icha paradise with you and if it'll make you happy I can dye my hair grey to look like Kakashi," proclaimed Ryû, his eyes widening in horror as he realized what he had just said.

Silk leapt to her feet angry at Ryû's stupidity. For a moment she had believed he was serious. When she caught Ibara's silhouette her blood began to boil. She had felt flattered but he had to ruin everything with his stupidity.

"In your dreams!" she hissed.

Fuming she slammed her window close. She sat on her bed and pet Gouz to calm down. Those morons. She almost hoped Sasuke was awake so he would throttle them or maybe she could ask Itachi to sharpen his claws on them? Yet she smiled softly at her team's antics. Really those idiots.

Ryû was flabbergasted. He didn't know what to say. When Silk turned Ryu's eyes widened in horror upon seeing what was written on her nightgown. "Ryû if you touch her I will KNOW." Mangekyoû Sharingans drawn at either side of the warning.

"Not fair!" he yelped, rushing to Ibara and clinging to his arm.

He then heard evil cackles and barely contained laughter coming from a nearby window. Both teens shrieked as their senseis' heads came into view. Naruto was bent over laughing his ass off. Sasuke gave them a small wave, his eyes warning of intense suffering. They took to their heels.

Once safely at home with the doors closed and locked and Ibara's bedroom door barricaded, they slid on the floor looking up at the ceiling. Ryû rolled on his side and gave his friend the puppy eyes, whining, "Ibaraaa."

Patting him awkwardly, Ibara tried to comfort the blonde, "don't worry…" he began.

"She arranged to meet me in her dreams!" exclaimed Ryû with dreamy eyes.

Ibara slapped his head. Dear Hokage, he was bloody stupid. Blessed were the dimwitted, right?

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There was a cell at the very bottom of the Hokage tower. A room as dark as night that had been prepared for the occasion. Once inside the air thinned as if the place was underwater, an incredible oppression that caused shivers. Blood seals were everywhere littering the walls enough to make someone dizzy. Strangely enough, they were the only source of light. The red markings glinted in waves. In the center, where all the seals seemed to meet, stood chains, others falling from the ceiling.

Naruto gasped, feeling his stomach lurch. He glanced at Sasuke and saw anger shining in the dark eyes, the slim hands clutched together drawing blood. Naruto was going to be tied up in the center. Stepping into the circle Naruto knelt on his place and poked at the chains, hearing them clang loudly in the silent room.

"It will end soon," whispered his lover kneeling in front of him, forehead to forehead.

"Isn't it kinky? I would love to tie you up and fuck the living daylights out of you," chuckled Naruto, even if the tension made his voice waver.

Sasuke slapped him on the head exchanging a contrite smile with the blonde. He grabbed the chains resting on the floor, looking at them with hatred. Then he took Naruto's naked feet and kissed his ankle before closing the cuff on it before doing the same with the other one. Then he grabbed the ones hanging. He took Naruto's wrists in his hands and kissed the sun colored skin before tying them together. Locking black to blue he took the last one, affixing his lips as a seal before closing the cuff around Naruto's neck. The raven was moving away when Naruto put his arms around him using the chain between his hands to yank Sasuke to him, capturing his lips in a heated kiss.

They parted, noses brushing and gazing at each other. Sasuke had his fingers buried in the blonde locks. Naruto was massaging the tensed nape.

"Sas-" began Naruto before being cut by lips pressing. Dark irises plunged into his blue ones displaying so many feelings.

"Don't you dare," harshly murmured Sasuke referring to their promise.

Someone clearing their throat made them jump. It was Tsunade. Sasuke nodded and she left to bring back all the dignitaries, the clan's head, and the people who would take part in the sealing.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"They have posted Anbu," sighed Ryû coming back from his investigation.

"I told you they would. We're not even supposed to know about it," pointed out Ibara, rocking his chair, an eye on the prostrated Silk.

"It's obvious we won't be able to sneak in and we have no way to know what's going on inside," mumbled Ryû pacing the room in which they were sort of hiding. The one next to where everything was to take place. He knew they knew they were there, but they let them stay.

"It's not fair. They are my parents and they might both die," whined Silk burying her head in her hands.

She didn't want to lose someone again. Her real parents had died and now her adoptive ones were in danger. It wasn't fair. Had she done something really wrong to have such a fate? Why did people around her always get hurt?

"Did you try to pass through the wall?" suddenly asked Ryû clapping his hands.

Silk bolted to her feet but then froze. She probably could but she wouldn't be able to take them with her.

"What about you?"

Ibara and Ryû shrugged. She bowed to them and concentrated. When she pressed with her hand against the wall nothing happened; it was the same as with Naruto's cell at the hospital: the protections were too strong.

"I'm afraid we have to resign ourselves to eavesdropping then," stated Ryû.

They nestled against each other and the wall. Silk in the middle, comforted by her too team mates and protected by their warmth. She didn't protest when Ryû wrapped an arm around her shoulders causing her head to lean on his. He didn't tell her it was going to be alright because he didn't know and so couldn't keep such a promise.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They were all ready now standing in a circle around Naruto except for Sasuke who was still kneeling in front of him. His face was his usual unfeeling mask, his eyes as sharp and cold as ever. There were faces he knew and others he didn't.

On each corner stood a medic nin, Sakura to his left and Shizune to his right, the other two he didn't know. Naruto smiled slightly as he noticed that Tsunade had placed in front of him all the familiar people or at least the more friendly ones, probably so that he could feel more secured.

Yamato was just behind Sasuke, ready with the wood seals, on either side of him were Tsunade and Jiraiya, Hyuuga, Aburame, Nara, Akumichi, Inuzuka and two other people he didn't know but looked like important people. Then there were four dignitaries leaning against the walls close to where the medics stood. Naruto didn't like them because they had a condescending and disdainful look in their eyes. They were old, but not like those peaceful old men, who inspire tenderness. They looked ugly as if greed and other bad feelings had eaten them away.

"Let's begin," ordered one of the dignitaries usurping Tsunade's place. The Hokage gave him a dirty look.

Naruto gulped trying to hide his nervousness behind a fake grin. Sasuke leaned toward him, his eyes bleeding to red, comas turning slowly as they locked with blue ones. Even if it wasn't necessary the raven put down his hands on his shoulders. They didn't need words as Sasuke entered Naruto's mind.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_It was strange __being__ there again. Naruto was next to him, of course since it was__ his__ mind after all, hop__p__ing around and twisting his hands. In front of them was a huge door, behind __it__ he could feel Kyuubi's chakra and hear the low rumble of the beast. _

_"So?" asked Naruto. _

_"I have the seals," said Sasuke pulling them out._

_Tsunade had given him quite a few in case some __got __destroyed. It was simple in theory. Naruto had to go inside the cage, pull out the seal, and re__leas__e Kyuubi. When the ninja outside __saw__ the nine tail __demon__, they would start the sealing incantation. Naruto and Sasuke had to back Kyuubi into the cage and Sasuke had to put the seal on the door. _

_T__he problem was that with __only__ 4 tails Naruto lost consciousness and __that__ they would have to fight Kyuubi. Both were risking their __lives. More so __Naruto since Kyuubi __lived inside__ him. Sasuke could pull out or get pulled out. Speaking of that, he didn't even want to imagine how it would look __once __outside… maybe they would wake up __to find __almost everyone dead in the room. If everyone died, they would die too since the seal__ing__ wouldn't be completed. _

_"Let's go then,__" said the blonde looking determined. _

_They entered to see Kyuubi laying low on the floor, like the first time Sasuke had met him. He was looking at them with his cunning and evil eyes, knowing perfectly __well __why they were __t__here. Bubbles of chakra __floated __in the room, __rising__, bumping on the walls, and exploding, as if __in a __boiling __pot_

_"__**Welcome back, Uchiha. I hope you will be a better opponent this time,"**__ drawled Kyuubi, __h__is laugh__ter__ reverberating sinisterly._

_"I will be there too!__" screamed Naruto pointing to his parasite with burning eyes. _

_"__**We will see,"**__ replied the fox a bit too sure of himself for the two humans' taste. _

_He withdrew__ inside the cage, his tails dancing around him __like flames__. His __eyes and his __white teeth __glinted __in an ugly smile. He was beckoning them with mirth. When the blonde entered his domain, he let his fluffy tails grace him wrapping lazily around him, teasing. _

_Naruto __grabbed a bar, his knuckles turning white. He put the __palm of his __other __hand __flat against the seal. It was old. He could feel the ruggedness under his fingertips, the small asperities where the paper had beg__u__n to crumble. Half the inscription __had faded__; the silky texture of the ink missing __abruptly_

_Sasuke went to __Naruto. __Kyuubi __taunted __him by caressing his form with a tail, brushing his chin. Slowly the raven put his hand on Naruto's thumbs stroking the honey colored skin. They would pull it off together. _

_Immersed in each other, their fingers almost lacing, they didn't __say a __word to rip __the seal off in__ one fluid motion. __All h__ell __broke __loose around them as Kyuubi roared in freedom. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

As Hyuuga-sama entered the room where the sealing was to take place he immediately noticed the Uchiha kneeling in front of the tied-up blonde. His distant cousin didn't move an inch. Dark eyes were locked with blue while people gathered in the room, all occupying their designated spots. So it was true. He could see the strong feeling between the two of them.

Neji. Hinata. They had both asked him to do his best for the ceremony to go well. He knew they weren't referring to the sealing. He had to make sure Naruto and Sasuke stayed alive. Neji was indebted to Naruto for opening his eyes. He was also Sasuke's friend and rival. Naruto had been Hinata's role model. He suspected that she had even fallen in love with him. Sasuke seemed to have an unknown link to her. For both Neji and Hinata to have dared voice their request, separately, it had to mean a lot to them.

He stared mesmerized at the beautiful sight that was the Uchiha's eyes turn red as the raven rested his hands on the blonde's shoulders. Activating the Byakugan, he distinctively saw the chakra panels of the Kyuubi's vessel and his cousin. Such power was incredible. Without understanding completely, he saw a part of the Uchiha leave his body and go inside Naruto's. Chakra links bonded the two bodies like a bridge would. What an interesting jutsu! But he could see the danger it entailed. It seemed that whatever happened to the Uchiha's chakra inside Naruto would affect his body on the outside.

They waited. There was such a thick silence you could hear a pin drop. Most of the witnesses held their breath, their attention glued on what was happening. Everyone was ready to start the incantation that would help keep Kyuubi under control to complete the sealing.

Hyuuga-sama was the first to see when it began. He immediately started singing the jutsu, his hands closing on the seal. He saw the blue chakra suddenly vanish to be replaced by a red evil one, burning uncontrolled and chaotic. It seemed so strong to be contained in the now frail looking human body. It was as if it was going to rip its way out. It swirled in the room making the air thin and heavy around them. He felt sweat gather on his face.

With horror they saw that the steel restraining the blonde's body melted. It didn't even drip on the floor, it evaporated. Terror and apprehension nested in the pit of everyone's stomachs as nine chakra tails appeared while Naruto's features changed to the monster's. Yamato used his power. Wood grew in the room. It snaked around Kyuubi's members, burning away but coming back stronger each time. In the middle of all this hell, on the red fur that was Naruto's blood, one light of hope still shone. The first Hokage's crystal hovered in the air around the beast's neck, untouched, as the center of all resistance.

It was then that Hyuuga-sama realized that even though Naruto's body was all blood it still seemed to take damage; he could see the blue chakra healing the body, fighting off Kyuubi's chakra. It was strange to see that a part of the demon's power also made sure its container survived. But… this was Naruto, he had dealt with such things since his birth. What about Sasuke? Tearing his eyes from the fascinating yet horrid spectacle, he took in the Uchiha's appearance.

If he had felt respect for the young man before, it reached its peak now. Deep blue chakra bordering on black had gathered around the raven, protecting his body from damage. (3) But it wasn't strong enough when it collided directly with Kyuubi's power. The Uchiha's hands where burning, the skin peeling off. A trail of blood stained the delicate features of his face.

"Naruto doesn't need it for the moment," snapped a strained voice that had to be Shizune's.

Looking around, still concentrated on the jutsu he was helping to create, he saw the intertwined markings on the floor: the crimson one for the Kyuubi and a new dark one reaching the Uchiha. The medic-nins were lending the raven their healing powers. When he saw the fury outside, Hyuuga-sama couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Sasuke leaped __from the floor, avoiding by a hair's breadth the tails lashing __at__ him. He swore as a huge jaw tried to snap him in __midair. U__sing the wall __for support__ he did a one hand cartwheel to escape. __With his f__eet __stuck on __the ceiling, he sent the powerful Chidori he had gather__ed__ while __performing __his acrobatic __move__, on the paw __to __his left. His skin wasn't going to come cheap. _

_As soon as Kyuubi had been set free he had launched__itself__ on Sasuke, not even giving him time to see what had happened to Naruto. He hadn't seen the blonde since __then __and was worried about his safety. He could have collapse__d__ for all he kn__e__w. The other problem was __that __even if he managed to push Kyuubi back in the cage – he highly doubt__ed__it __was possible to do on his own – he couldn't possibly seal it inside if Naruto was __still__ in the cage. He didn't know what the seal would do to his dobe. _

_"__**Surrender **__**and I will spare you, Uchiha,**__" purred Kyuubi, enjoying himself very much. _

_As way of answer, Sasuke__ neatly cut off a pair of fluffy tails. The fox __roared__ in anger and hurt but already new tails where growing, sweeping in the air. __There was__ no end __to it. The __Kyuubi's paw he had destroyed with the chidori had been __completely__ healed in a matter of seconds. Sasuke was just exhausting himself __pointlessly_

_"__**I will crush you,**__" sneered the demon-fox gathering chakra in his jaw like he had done against Orochimaru. _

_Eyes widening at the enormous concentration of raw power, Sasuke braced himself for the impact. Even if he __tried __to avoid most of the__ attack h__e was locked in this room and there was nowhere to hid__e__ or use __for __protection. He had to make one if he wanted to stay alive. _

_"Sanjû Rashômon!__" (triple rampart) _

_Three enormous gates appeared in front of Sasuke. __Kyuubi snorted. The __man __hadn't been Orochimaru's student for nothing. Orochimaru had used __the same __jutsu against him. I__t__ wouldn't work. The attack connected. _

_In a normal room__ the walls would have tremble__d__ and surely been blasted off, but here only a__n almost deafening rumble__ could be heard. The demon-fox looked avidly as the three gates crumbled __after being __pierced like thin paper. The Uchiha had to have died or __been left __a real mess of destroyed lim__b__s. __The __Kyuubi's laugh died in __its __throat._

_Sasuke had wait__ed__ for the ball of chakra to be sent. As soon as it had met the first gate he had run for it. As if he was stupid enough to stand behind the jutsu and wait to see if it worked! He had leaped on the last door __hiding __in one of __its __many peak__s__. Using the blast of the gates to __conceal __his body, he leaped above Kyuubi __and plunged __his katana in the demon's throat from behind. _

_Hissing__ Kyuubi bucked sending Sasuke flying but catching him with three of its tails. He stared at his trapped adversary struggling in his hold, spitting as fur gathered in his mouth the more he __struggled__. The man hadn't c__o__me out of his little trick intact. Using the explosion to cover __h__is attack wouldn't __leave __him untouched, yet the __damage had been __incredibly well placed. He was cunning. _

_Sasuke stopped thrashing__, resting __limp__ in the strong yet soft hold. At least this way he would catch his breath. Maybe even have time to heal. He knew__ the healing __would __be __faster with the medic-nin__s'__help__ from the outside. His left sleeve __was in tatters__, his arm badly burnt, __and __his back littered with small debris, some stuck __to__ his flesh __and carved __deep cuts. Still he__ could feel __his chakra and the medic's __aid__ pulsing __through __him, lessening his injuries. This time he wasn't unprepared and in a weakened state, he would be able to hold himself longer._

_"__**Impressive,"**__ admitted Kyuubi, the wound on his neck __had completely __close__d__ off and __was __slowly disappearing. _

_The raven groaned. His idea of maiming Kyuubi and using his healing time to throw him back into the cell was visibly a bad one. He just healed too fast! He needed to __cause considerable __damage__ with just __one hit __for__ it to work. He cringed as the hold around him __tightened__, threatening to break his ribs. _

_"Naruto Uzumaki the great to the rescue!" _

_Relief washed through__Sasuke __as he released the chidori Nagashi, once again cutting off some __of __Kyuubi__'s tails__. He graciously let Naruto catch him in his fall, giving a small __squeeze__ to the arm snaked around his waist. _

_They landed on the floor a good distance away from Kyuubi. __Naruto poked out his lips to receive his well deserved kiss but was met with a cold: "You're late, dobe" and a __smirk_

_"Better late than never, bastard__," he grunted. He had needed time to regain his consciousness and come back from the very end of the cage, but now that he was here… he cracked his knuckles as he glanced toward his parasite, Kyuubi. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They could hear people barking orders on the other side. Silk was biting her lips, tears gathering in her eyes as worry turned her stomach upside down. She could only imagine the worse with the sounds that reached her ears.

Ryû opened the door when the sound of hurried footsteps reached them. Medic-nins were coming and going so that the ones performing the ceremony could rest a little. They saw Shizune, drenched in sweat and exhausted stumble against the wall, falling asleep instantly. She went back inside once she had recovered enough. The sight only increased Silk's worry so Ibara chose to close the door. He tried to keep her from listening, ear pressed to the wall, to the sounds of the ceremony but she turned intangible every time he tried to drag her away.

They all jumped when someone knocked on the door. Ibara scratched at the scars on his arm wondering if an adult had come to chase them away. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't help but think that it might actually be a good idea. Ryû, on the other hand, took a fighting pose, ready to struggle for Silk's right to be there.

Sakura entered the room, a tired smile on her face. They relaxed. Silk left her position to fidget in front of the pink-haired woman. The latter dragged a chair and slumped on it, mopping her forehead with a tissue.

"For the moment it's going well," she said smiling as Silk fell to the floor in relief.

She didn't wait for them to harass her with questions. She had to get this over with quickly so that she could rest and go back inside. The medic-nins relieving them were good, but not the best. She didn't want to take the risk of something going wrong. She had to do her job.

"Kyuubi has been released," she glanced to see their reaction, but neither of them even flinched so she went on, "for the moment Yamato-taichou is able to contain him. The clan heads are reciting the sealing mantra over and over until Kyuubi is sealed. You see, we don't know what's happening inside, so we can't tell when the right moment is."

She gulped down some water and continued, "we, medic-nins, have a hard job. One of the medics is in charge of making sure Yamato-taichou doesn't feel the strain and exhaustion too badly since he's the only one able to control Kyuubi. Then, we have two medics helping out Naruto. At first his body could handle the Kyuubi on his own, but it's been so long his resources aren't enough anymore, so we have to heal him constantly. Then we have Sasuke. His chakra is holding up well enough but all the parts in direct contact with Naruto have to be continually healed. We also have to cure all his injuries from fighting the demon inside Naruto."

It was good to have some information about what was going on. Silk was appeased even if worry was still present. How she wished she could come inside and help.

"Why can't you use more medic-nins?" she asked, straightening her clothes as if to calm herself.

"It would mess up the stability of the sealing. We can't have more than 20 people in the room. It's hard to explain, but each person has their own place and adding more would break the subtle arrangement," she clarified before walking out of the room. She gave them one last smile before settling down on the floor and falling asleep.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_For how long had they been fighting? He didn't __know__. It was a blessing __that __they had back__ed__ up outside. __They were still in okay __shape even__ though __their chakra was slowly __ebbing __and exhaustion was heavy on them. Kyuubi's movement__s__ had slowed down a little; it was satisfying to know __that__ they had at least manage__d that much__Still __they were far from backing him into his cage. He hadn't even put a __paw__ in it. _

_Th__ey had tried and not with __weak attempts__. They had combined their attack__s__, using the Futonrasengan, the chidori, fire, __and__ any __other possible__ arrangement of__ all of their __technique__s__ to no avail. They were __now __breathing heavily, eyeing each other, waiting for __the next __move. Kyuubi had the upper hand but he sta__yed__ cautious, seeming to take pleasure in their battle. _

_"Sasuke?"_

_"Hn?"_

_"Do you have an idea?" asked Naruto, shifting his weight from foot to foot, high on adrenaline. It only ma__d__e Sasuke want to strangle him for wasting precious energy. _

_"No. You're welcome to help, you know?" he grunted. _

_"Hey! I'm not the genius here," replied Naruto sheepishly. He truly had no idea __what to do. T__hey had __already__ tried everything they could think __of__, most__ly __suggested by Sasuke of course. _

_"Aren't you supposed to be the most unexpected ninja?" taunted Sasuke. _

_"Asshole," huffed the blonde, pouting. _

_"Usuratonkatchi."_

_Kyuubi snorted. Even helpless, desperate, lost, on the verge of dying under his paw__s__, they still bickered like a married couple. It was interesting to see them fighting together. They balanced each other perfectly, guessing without words what the other had in mind __and __his weakness. At the same time it __looked__like __a game as they threw insults and __mocked each other_

_He saw the blue eyes of his host light up and knew he had an idea. He was curious to see what it was. It had been so long since he had had so much fun. __More importantly __this fight might bring him his __freedom_

_"Hold him up a moment," asked Naruto running off toward the cage under the perplex__ed__ look of his lover. _

_Sighing__, the Uchiha swoop__ed__ down on his adversary, running around him __and __slashing__ at him __with his katana to prevent him __from making __any unwanted movement__s__. He __felt like __a fly as the huge tails trailed behind him, trying to catch him and __smash __him into a wall. He cut __off __some of __the tails__ adding them to the ones __already__ on the floor making a cushion under him. It was funny how when locked __up__ the Kyuubi had been made of bubbles and now he seemed so tangible, as if real. _

_"Oy fox!" called Naruto. _

_Both Kyuubi and Sasuke turned to look inside the cage. Sasuke felt his eyes __bulge__ and his mouth drop to the floor before a vein popped on his __fore__head in anger. The bloody moron! Here he was, simpering up seductively in his sexy no jutsu form! He had gathered some fallen tails __that __he held behind him, waving them as he shook his ass winking. _

_"Aren't I a__ nice vixen?" he asked sultrily in a singsong voice. _

_Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, trying not to lose it. __He nearly failed as Naruto added: "Come here foxy! No? Not working? Are you gay?"_

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The head-clans were starting to feel numb from sitting in the room. They were tired of keeping up the jutsu with a constant flow of chakra. It didn't take too much of them for the moment, but it was strenuous. It would drain them when the actual sealing took place.

Hyuuga-sama redoubled his efforts when he saw the red chakra lessen faintly. He heard the gasps escaping some mouths as some tails suddenly vanished. They all gathered all their forces to make the sealing jutsu stronger, Yamato-san almost leaning towards the beast as if it would help increase his control over it.

For a moment they all thought they had made it, but suddenly the red chakra swirled almost shaking off the wood restraining Kyuubi. Yamato-san fell over as his medic-nin collapsed, but he didn't release his hold, sighing in relief as another medic took over.

The brief light of hope was absolutely crushed when they noticed the pool of blood around Sasuke's body. He was coughing up blood that evaporated the moment it touched what had been Naruto's body. The dark yukata was even darker as blood drenched it, coming from the deep claw wounds that extended from his left shoulder to his right hip. Sakura, who was healing him, fell to the floor kneeling, hands clenching in her jutsu position as she tried to help.

"Replace her!" ordered Tsunade-sama abandoning her role in the sealing and taking over Sakura's job. Since her chakra hadn't been strained by continuous healing it was stronger.

With the new medic-nin's help, they hurriedly took care of the damage to the internal organs and then patched up the visible injury. It would take time but they could make it. Tsunade-sama pulled out as soon as the bigger job was done. She couldn't afford not to be there if Naruto and Sasuke managed to corner Kyuubi.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Naruto snatched Sasuke away, dragging __both of them to __the __back __of Kyuubi's jail to rest a bit. The demon wouldn't venture in __there in __case they manage__d__ to escape and seal him inside. Damn it. The raven was __bleeding to death__; it was a miracle his shoulder was still connected __to __the rest of his body. And it was __all __his fault! _

_"Can't believe it actually worked,__" __choked__ the raven bending over as he vomited blood. _

_"Bastard__, you can't die here! You're the one suppose__d__ to kill me if it goes wrong!" admonished Naruto, feeling relieve__d__ as some color came back to his lover and he saw the wound __become smaller_

_Sasuke didn't __reply. To think the dumb trick had actually almost given them __the __victory! As Naruto had kept wriggling dumbly in his normal form and with the tails, Kyuubi had actually __pounced __on him, half his body entering the jail. Naruto __had __run for it, making a U__-turn__ and almost forcing Kyuubi __completely __inside. Sasuke__ had__ already pulled __out __a seal ready to lock the door __permanently, b__ut the demon hadn't been __so __stupid. He had retreated just in time. _

_That __was __when __things had __gone __bad. Sasuke had understood too late. The Kyuubi was tired of playing and had truly meant to kill Naruto because, unlike Sasuke__'s case__, if Naruto's soul died, his body would still remain since another soul, Kyuubi's__ was inside to take care of it. Sasuke hadn't __thought __twice __and __like the time with Haku__ he had jumped in front of the blonde taking all the __damage__ head on. _

_"__**This place won't be my jail but your grave,"**__ roared Kyuubi, bringing Sasuke __back__ from his little reverie. _

_Sasuke __winced, even if his body was mostly healed, it was still strenuous. __He knew he __would feel like crap when this end__ed. H__e was certain he was going to have to stay in the hospital for a while too. He __s__crunched his nose at the idea, hearing Naruto chuckle softly above him. _

_The blonde was trailing his hand__through __Sasuke's bangs, massaging his head. He knew what was __i__n his lover's mind. It had to end fast; otherwise none of them would make it. He was also worried about the outside world. Silk had to be stressed out and all the people gathered in the room surely were at their limits __by now_

_"Hey__, Sasuke," he whispered grabbing the raven's chin and tilting his head toward him._

_"Hn?__" replied Sasuke, thumb__s__ stroking Naruto's thigh absentmindedly_

_"Maybe it's time for plan B?" he asked wiping the blood from the corner of his lover's mouth. _

_"Naruto!__" exclaimed Sasuke, trying to straighten up but kept in place by Naruto's firm hands. _

_He caught the blue eyes and understood. __Softly Naruto brushed their lips __together__, a __soft __press of lips. Naruto's felt salty, smooth, and damp while Sasuke's were harder, slightly crack__ed__ by the dried blood. As __usual__ in their relationship, Naruto offered what Sasuke hadn't. He poke__d__ his tongue out moistening and softening the dry lips, making them pliant under him. Nipping gently on the lower one, Naruto let his tongue sneak inside, brushing teeth before entering and meeting another rival. They were battling for __dominance__, making __the kiss__ more passionate, more possessive to finally go back to lazy and slow as Sasuke surrendered with a moan. Their tongue__s__ caressed each other as hands __would map__ a body. Their lips moved in unison in a slow dance so near love __making__. But none of them g__o__t out victorious; it was the lack of air that won, making them __break__ apart. Eyes that had closed to savor the moment __opened __to gaze in the other's pool of emotion, as if they couldn't bear to be apart for even a second. _

_"Let's go,__" breathed Naruto. They stood up together, hands laced. _

_"__**Finally showing yourselves?**__" pointed out Kyuubi as he saw their shadows approaching. _

_Naruto gave Sasuke one last glance as the raven gave him the seals. Wondering why he didn't ask, he jumped into a battle with Kyuubi __without __looking back. What he didn't know was that Sasuke had a plan C. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk had reluctantly agreed to start a game of cards. She had wanted to keep listening, to stay ready for anything, to dash to the door to see if Sakura was back with more news. She admitted now that it had been a good idea. Her stress decreased and she could still hear what was happening since they were playing next to the wall. So she distinctly heard when all hell broke lose. The screams and hurried orders, the roars of the Kyuubi and the howling of his chakra so strong that it made the walls vibrate. Before her team mates had a chance to register what was happening, she had dashed out of the room.

The medic nins who were resting were all gathered at the sealing room's door, looking inside with horrified expressions and helping the two anbu keeping up the protections. Silk didn't think twice, she became intangible and ran through the crowd straight into the room.

She froze at Naruto's form and a scream escaped her lips as she took in the scene, as an unwanted witness.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He winced as he was hurled back to his body. His hands, still on Naruto's completely transformed form, hurt him. His skin burnt raw despite the constant healing of the medic-nins. He fought the urge to close his eyes as the Kyuubi's red chakra threatened to blind him. The nine tails were out, immobilized by wood but still pulsing and curling. Hadn't he known Sasuke wouldn't have recognized his lover. In front of him was a giant fox. In four tails form Naruto still had human features, a human body… now it was nothing but a gigantic fox.

"Uchiha-san?" asked a worried and strained voice.

Knowing he had little time for such considerations, he rose to his feet ignoring the people calling him, asking what was happening. His hand closed on Kusanagi. Orochimaru had told him it was no use with the Kyuubi, but combined with the Chidori, it should do its deed.

As expected Kyuubi's, until now void eyes, since he was still fighting Naruto in his inner mind, lit up. The triumphant expression they showed slowly turned into horror as Sasuke did what had to be done, firm and unhesitating as ever.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hyuuga-sama saw the Uchiha's chakra retreat but didn't feel any change in the Kyuubi's, it hadn't been sealed. What was going on? As soon as he saw the red eyes focus he called out, "Uchiha-san?"

He received no answer, the young man too concentrated on his lover. Soon he understood why as the Kyuubi surfaced. Was Naruto dead? No, he still saw his blue chakra. Yet the monster had taken over the body, breaking free of its bond.

Panic took over the room as the tails escaped the wood hold, crashing on the floor, breaking seals as if they were nothing. Yamato-san kept trying to corner him but his power seemed almost useless, only able to slow down the beast's tails for seconds. Still they had to be thankful; the rest of its body was firmly trapped, unable to move as the first Hokage's pendant and Yamato's power combined to restrain it.

Hyuuga-sama moved just in time to escape being hit by a tail, cursing inwardly. They were still doing the ceremony since the Uchiha hadn't told them what was going on. Some of his fellows had been injured. Medic-nins were trying to help them all they could from outside the room.

It was horrible. The Kyuubi's chakra was so evil it made them sick, crushed their minds and bodies with its power. Had they been less powerful ninja they would all have collapsed under such pressure. The air was boiling, colored in red, yellow, and orange. He didn't think it could be any worse until it happened.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

When Tsunade saw Sasuke rise unscathed with his sword, she couldn't even imagine what was going on. It was almost in a dreamy, or nightmarish, state of mind that she saw the raven-haired man dash to the bucking Kyuubi.

There was no hesitation, no pause or shaking as the Chidori lit sword pierced through Naruto's chest like a knife through butter. Sasuke used all his weight in the attack, colliding with the body as his blade buried to the hilt inside of it.

In the room they all stopped concentrating, bewilderment written on all the faces. None could believe Sasuke had just killed Naruto and none could believe how all the seals protecting the room blew off, burning to a crisp as Kyuubi gave a roar of hatred after being defeated.

"Keep the sealing up!" bellowed Sasuke, drenched in his and Naruto's blood.

His skin was peeling since he was too close to the demon, but in the blink of an eye the beast form went back to a human body. Naruto's limp and raw body fell on Sasuke, the raven holding him close as he retrieved his blade, a fountain of red emerging.

Silk's scream was what sprung Tsunade into action; she didn't even wonder how she had entered. She ran to the couple. Not looking at the disaster in the room, not caring about the injured people, Tsunade let the dignitaries take over; all she had in her mind was Naruto.

She looked as Sasuke stuck Kusanagi on the floor and slid on his knees, still holding the blonde close to him, using his last strength to stop the blood flow from Naruto's pierced chest and heal the skin of his face as if he wanted to at least give him back his whole human form. Tsunade had always thought she would break all the bones of anyone who would dare kill her almost son, but as Sasuke laid Naruto on the floor, closing his unfocused blue eyes, she felt like an intruder.

Idly she noticed that he had missed the heart. The sword had stabbed Naruto just below, certainly touching the heart in the process but… she wondered if it had been lack of courage that made him miss. Maybe he hadn't had the strength to stab Naruto's heart? She didn't move as the young man shook and staggered but a small form, now tangible, reached for the injured man holding him as he collapsed.

"Naruto…" was the last word he whispered.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Silk's tears were already pouring when her scream ended. In front of her eyes where her two fathers in a deathly embrace. She choked as Sasuke pulled out his sword from Naruto's body… corpse. She didn't dare move for a moment, simply looking from afar. When her father and teacher blacked out she caught him.

"Help! Help!" she pleaded, gripping Naruto's warm but unresponsive hand in hers.

Sakura was at her side in a matter of seconds, checking Sasuke's vitals and healing him. Medics were flowing next to her, pushing Silk out of the way to disappear with the badly injured Uchiha. Silk wanted to follow, to hold his hand, but she couldn't leave Naruto. She was still gripping his hand tightly. Hiccupping she turned to him only to see a grief-stricken Tsunade caressing his blonde locks. The Hokage was slowly rebuilding the destroyed skin, continuing what Sasuke had begun.

"Is the Kyuubi dead? Are we safe now?" asked one of the dignitaries.

Silk turned to him. Had she been stronger he would have died in horrible suffering. She heard Tsunade's gasp behind her and insanely hoped the woman would break the man's ribs… it didn't happen instead the Hokage frantically called for a stretcher. Maybe she wanted to get Naruto away as fast as possible from those horrible people, from the place of his death? Really why ask for a stretcher…

Silk thought it was funny to see how her mind seemed to cling to stupid things to avoid reality, how she still hoped for a miracle to happen.

"Hokage! Is the demon dead?" insisted another one of the dignitaries.

This time Silk jumped to her feet ready to slap the insensitive man, but an arm closing on her wrist prevented her from doing it.

"Don't. You're an Uchiha," reminded her a man with long dark hair, Hyuuga-sama if she remembered correctly.

"But I'm not," pointed out Ryû as he kicked the man in the gut with all his strength.

Hyuuga-sama gave a snort and went to appease the angry man. Ibara took Silk in his embrace, not even shaking his head at Ryû's action; he looked as if he would have gladly done the same. Ryû awkwardly fidgeted next to them until Silk gripped his vest and pulled him into an embrace, burying her head in his chest and crying her heart out.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Christmas and New Year were a sad time. Sasuke was in a deep coma after being poisoned by the Kyuubi's chakra. As soon as he had been healed, all traces of injuries erased from his body, Silk had made sure that he was brought back to the Uchiha household. The medics couldn't help him anymore and she knew he hated hospitals. She was old enough to take care of him and it was the least she could do. Itachi didn't move from Sasuke's room, not even to eat. Silk had been forced to bring him food that he barely touched. Fifi and Cheyenne often looked around the house, as if searching for Naruto.

Ibara and Ryû came often to help her around the house, but she didn't let them approach Sasuke, it would be a lack of respect. Kakashi-sensei had been chosen as their temporary teacher but she hadn't had the heart to be happy about it. When Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-san, Ryû, Ibara, and his family had showed up with food and alcohol to celebrate Christmas and the New Year she had forced a smile on her face, moved.

She had taken to tell Sasuke news about Konoha every night. She didn't know if he could hear her, but if he could, it would keep him connected to their world and updated about the village's life and politics. She had to admit Ibara's mother's gossip helped a lot. She also spoke about her day and the team.

"Ryû started his training with Sakura. She wanted to do it for Naruto and you," she stopped a moment, "she's scaring the hell out of him! Well, she keeps hitting him since he's such a dummy. Last time he dared called her flat chested… it's a wonder he's not hospitalized yet."

She chuckled, blushing a little as she kept quiet about him still trying to seduce her, leaving little flowers on her window, making sure she ate… he could be touching and cute when he wanted to, but she had a feeling that would anger Sasuke… or maybe wake him up just enough to strangle Ryû?

"Ibara is learning water jutsus with Kakashi-sensei. He's gotten stronger! Now that he has bags of blood it's easier for him and he can make stronger jutsu. I'm still training on Katon and the sword. I'm trying to perfect all I know and of course I'm improving with my Seirei Kabe no jutsu (phantom wall). Now I can be intangible but use my sword as if I weren't."

Silk tapped her chin pensively, wondering what else she could say that would interest Sasuke. She tried to give him important and useful information, but sometimes it felt nice to speak of casual things. She hoped he didn't mind.

"Guess what! Ibara is a father now!" she waited a little, as if Sasuke was going to choke or snort, "Clafoutis and Chips, his guinea pigs, had three little ones. They are so cute! Well Ibara was so surprised he nearly fainted. It was rather funny to see him running around the house frantically. He thought both of them were female… but it seems Chips is in fact a male. They are going to keep the babies. They named them Chantilly, Crumble, and Chouquette."

Done for the day, she made sure everything was perfect. She petted Itachi, who didn't even move from his spot against Sasuke's arm, and kissed her father on the forehead, wishing him a good night and asking him to get better soon.

The few times Sasuke awoke he called for Naruto and Silk, even though she was right there. It was difficult to see him feverish and lost. They weren't sure he would survive. The people injured during the sealing had been cured fast and the poison had been eliminated with time, but Sasuke had been far too close to the Kyuubi and also received injuries while inside Naruto's mind. Silk still believed he would make it.

Two weeks after the sealing, Silk's hope was reborn: they had a new treatment for Sasuke. With luck it would work, even if he had been abandoned to his fate and weakened body for so long. Not only this treatment but what it implied gave her back her smile.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sasuke groaned, feeling horrible. Slowly he opened his eyes, careful, as he expected to see light increased by the white walls that hospitals seemed to like so much. He was relieved when he met darkness… was it nighttime? No. Smiling he took in his room, the dark curtains tightly closed to prevent the sun from disturbing him. On the nightstand was a bottle of water and some biscuits, left there in case he woke up.

He would have to thank Silk for being such a good daughter. Then his eyes landed on the small calendar where days were crossed off. He blinked. Had it been a whole month since the sealing? He couldn't believe it!

Dread made his heart clench and he left the bed, falling in a lump on the floor as his legs refused to hold him. Crawling, he made his way to the door cursing as he found it closed.

"Ow!" he winced as something jumped on his head.

Itachi had used him as a springboard to jump on the handle to open the door. He muttered a thank you to his cat, scratching him fondly as he noticed how thin the poor thing was. He sighed as Châtaigne meowed from the other side, pushing the door open even more. She had grown so much! Rubbing against him, she then employed herself to fuss over a hissing Itachi. Some things never changed…

But now wasn't the time for such things, he had to know. He wouldn't surrender to the weariness that was once again upon him until he knew. Still dragging himself, irritated at his weakness, he reached the corridor. Silk wasn't back from training or whatever she was doing yet. As he dropped his head on the parquet in despair, not sure he would actually succeed in staying awake long enough for her to be back. He had all ten cats meowing, rubbing, and licking him when the door opened.

"Sasuke!" exclaimed Silk, dropping the shopping bags on the floor in surprise.

After training she had gone grocery shopping and, of course, her father had to wake the day she didn't go straight home! Oh God, he was awake! Her eyes watered.

"Silk, did my plan work? Did Naruto make it alive?" were the first words that escaped Sasuke's mouth, his voice hoarse with disuse.

Silk broke down crying. She knelt and hugged her father to her chest, words stumbling out of her mouth, "Naruto… Naruto he…"

Sasuke clung to her, knuckles almost white and nearly hurting her.

"Did he?" he repeated, his voice low and quivering.

"Oi! Don't cling to her like that!" said someone from the door.

oooooooooooo Notes oooooooooooooo

(1) See Sound and Leaf. I didn't mention Suigetsu and co. at the time (they weren't in the series yet lol), but I did say that Sasuke had sent information to Konoha.

(2) Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. It's a French play, adapted into a movie with Gérard Depardieu (and trust me, he does a great job even if I don't usually love him). I don't know if the English translation is good (the original is in verse and there's a lot of word play, so I don't know how they translated it). I really recommend it.  
Translation from: http:/emotional-literacy-education(dot)com/classic-books-online-b/cdben10(dot)htm

(3) I really don't know what color Sasuke's chakra is. With Chidori it's blue. Other than that I don't think we really see it. So I settled for blue. And he can't use Orochimaru's seal since I said he lost it when Orochimaru died (see Sound and Leaf).

Chantilly, Crumble, and Chouquette are She-who-has-no-name's new guinea pigs. They were born December 26th! Such a surprise lol!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

**Yeah I know I'm an evil evil au****thor for ending it here (evil ****cackling) **

**Please review! ****I need ****it**

Next chapter: Dawn (last chapter) I'm afraid I will need a lot of time to finish it, sorry!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dear **cfox**

I chose not to put Madara into this because I don't feel confident enough to use him since we don't know him… About Hebi, as you noticed, I mentioned them. They were planned to appear in the arc I decided not to write. I will mention them again in the epilogue (I will include a quick summary of the arc that was planned in it).

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dear **Missy777**,

I am aware Team 5 is a lot under the spot light, as you said they are essential since they are Sasuke's and Naruto's students. I don't think they are fighting for the spot light, since I believe we see Naruto and Sasuke's reaction to them, and still see both pretty often. Furthermore… I had warned readers about this in Sound and Leaf, stating Team 5 would be a lot in this new story (Hence why I cut the story in two parts).

About the development/evolution of the characters, I had to describe my OC, especially since they are young and growing up. I also don't think Naru and Sasu didn't change, by their interaction with Team 5 they evolved (especially Sasuke). I also remind you they are adults and already well acquaintance to each other and so won't evolve a lot in this aspect (even if they do a little, for example Sasuke slowly trusting Naru even more).

About Silk, well it was really coming to it, since Sasuke was so close to her and… Naru and Sasu suffered from being orphan, I don't see them letting Silk live all alone, especially without a place to live.

For Ibara, I know he is a little… put behind since he's well, "normal" compared to Silk and Ryû, but I don't think he's neglect. I mean, Sasuke is the one who found out for the water jutsu, who told him to use bags of blood etc.

I might have taken into account your opinion but the story is already coming to an end, next chapter being the last. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it and hope you will enjoy better my other work (if you read them)

Don't worry about your English, it was very easy to understand and it's not my native language either so I total sympathise with you.

Sincerely,

Lisea


	16. Dawn

**Chapter ****16: ****Dawn**

Ibara, Ryû and Silk are mine, please do not use!

This is the **last** chapter.  
Thanks to my incredible Beta for her hard work and to She-who-has-no-name for her help.

Thanks to all the people who reviewed, faved, and put me on their alert list or C2. You made the story live; I never thought I would write such a long one (sorry to have to end it sooner than planned).  
I had a hard time writing this chapter… I hope you'll like this version.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Oy! Don't cling to her like that!" exclaimed Kiba, unceremoniously dropping his packages on the floor. Akamaru rushed inside, tail wagging.

Sasuke who had had a moment of maddening hope felt his heart drop and with it all his strength. He was too tired to stay awake anymore, his body needed the rest. Going limp in Silk's arms he distantly heard her say something he didn't catch.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

_Naruto __had diverted Kyuubi's attention just __long __enough __for __Sasuke __to __slip out of his mind unnoticed. Then he simply stopped fighting, it was no use now. Kyuubi froze noticing something was wrong. _

_"__**Where is the Uchiha?**__" he bellowed, his eyes suddenly unfocused as he took over Naruto's body. _

_Naruto didn't __answer; didn't try to stop the Kyuubi either. It __was__ strange to feel __how he was being __stab__bed__ even __though __nothing __actually __happened to him __inside his mind__. He could feel the chidori charged katana piercing his body __and __wondered if the faint warmth he felt was Sasuke's body touching his. _

_Kyuubi howled in __a mix of __hatred __and __anger but instead of __retaliating __as Naruto expected, the fox dashed to his cell. Snarling and fuming he hissed venomously at him, "__**You won… this time!**__" _

_Naruto blinked__, not understanding what was going on. He raised his hand to scratch his head and saw the crum__p__led seals in it. The bastard! He ran to the cell, he had to make it in time! He all but smashed the seal on the door. _

_A blazing light made him stagger backwards as the seal was completed. It had been a desperate but clever move. Sasuke hadn't stab__bed__ his heart, he had only injured it. If the body died, Kyuubi couldn't __survive. __By injuring his host __so badly__, Sasuke had forced Kyuubi to go back in the cage and let himself be sealed to have a chance to save Naruto. With him free, Naruto's body wouldn't have ma__d__e it. _

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The first thing Sasuke saw when he regained consciousness was white. Lots of white. His nostrils met the scent of a hospital and his stomach lurched at it. The urge to escape overwhelmed him until he spotted Silk, nuzzled against him, sleeping peacefully, Itachi draped on her shoulders.

"You awake, dude?" asked a familiar voice.

Sasuke turned his head to meet once again red markings on a face and a toothy grin: Kiba. To say he was disappointed was an understatement. He had wished for blue and blond… Had he failed again? He hadn't been able to save his family, he hadn't been able to bring back the Itachi he knew… and now he hadn't been able to save the person he loved.

Oblivious to Sasuke's internal turmoil, Kiba kept on babbling. Sasuke wanted to throttle him, to make him eat his dog if it managed to shut him up. Naruto was dead and the world hadn't stopped moving. But he knew some people for whom time would stop definitively; he would make sure of that.

Silk woke up startled by the killing intent so near her. It was skillfully covered up, but since she was so close she could feel it perfectly. She blinked a few times, clearing her vision to see red Sharingan eyes locked on her, as if pondering. She shivered. Those eyes, the cold edge they had, as if death itself was nested there… it reminded her of the first time she had met Sasuke, when he had swooped down on her team.

"… Naruto is as a lion in a cage, well a fox, and…" continued Kiba before being cut off by a hand hoisting him up by the shirt.

"What?" asked a chilly voice, Sasuke not very stable on his feet but still managing to look incredibly scary and threatening.

Akamaru gave a tiny whimper, ready to jump on his master's assailant but not daring to move. Kiba gulped down, not even reassured by the fact that Sasuke had to lean on the bed's armrest. What was it he had said again? It wasn't his damn fault Naruto was once again locked up in the hospital's restraining room! Maybe it was the fox comment?

"Naruto is alive?" hissed Sasuke, resisting the urge to shake the dork.

Kiba stared. "Huh… yeah," he tried.

Sasuke's hold slackened, his fingers turning back to their normal color as he let go of Kiba's shirt. Had he hit is head or something?

"Why?" added the dog-boy almost immediately regretting it, as hatred filled black eyes settled back on him.

"_Why_? I should ask _you_ why you didn't tell me sooner!" snapped Sasuke, already stumbling towards the door.

Silk, who had witnessed the whole scene, dumbfounded, hurried to her father's side, helping him out. Sasuke let her, leaning heavily on her small frame. He hadn't walked for God knows how many days and the poison in his veins, even if almost completely healed, had weakened his body even more. She was family, he could accept such aid.

"I thought you knew! You're the one who saved his damn life! And Silk told you when you woke up!" argued Kiba, following and grumbling, not even trying to stop the Uchiha.

He didn't know who between Tsunade (who had ordered he kept Sasuke in bed… as if) or the Uchiha was worse. Right now it was Sasuke, because he was the one he had to deal with at the moment. At least Tsunade's scowling would come later…

Silk threw him an apologetic glance, reddening a little.

"It's my fault. I forgot to tell you Sasuke didn't hear me about Naruto," she whispered, daring a timid look to her father, only receiving a discreet but gentle caress on her head.

The two Anbus guarding the cell never knew what hit them, Sasuke not bothering to give them a warning. Next moment the seals on the door were broken as if they were nothing and one chidori later Sasuke was punching Naruto.

"Remind me to never to get on your father's bad side," requested Kiba as he tied the two Anbus.

"Hey! What was that for? You bastard!" yelped Naruto, nursing a sore cheek.

Naruto had been in between life and death for a long time. As soon as he had been healed, Tsunade had taken chakra from him on a regular basis to cure Sasuke. The latter was the only one, who could be able to confirm Kyuubi was really sealed. Naruto had been waiting for his lover to regain consciousness and all he got was a punch!

"For making me swear I would kill you and making me worry," growled Sasuke, glaring.

"You could have told me the plan, asshole!" retorted Naruto, pointing accusingly.

"You would have messed it up, moron!"

Naruto launched on Sasuke, the latter too tired to dodge. They stumbled on the floor trying to beat the crap out of each other.

"Are they always like that?" wondered Kiba, shaking his head.

"Yes," replied Silk, unfazed. "We better go," she added, leaving to give the good news to everyone. Ryû had to be close by since he was working with Sakura.

"Why?" asked Kiba finally understanding as Silk turned red. He glanced behind him and noticed that indeed, they were tearing each other's clothes off rather than fighting.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Lots of pictures laid across the floor, waiting to be ordered in a new family album or framed and hung on the walls.

There was a family photo: Sasuke, Naruto, Silk, Manda, and an Itachi Bunshin holding Itachi-cat, the rest of the cats scattered around. Underneath this one were all the failures… the same picture but with a patch of blond hair on one corner, Ryû had tried to sneak in the shoot. Another one with a foot poking out of Manda's mouth, Silk tugging on Ryû's foot to help him out of Manda's mouth and Sasuke smirking.

A sign forbidding swearwords and instructions for when the rule was broken were mixed in with the pictures…

_Silk __had been about to go __shopping, leaving Sasuke to his jutsus and Naruto to his tool sharpening __and to their usual __bickering and well aimed comments __at each other__Right before she stepped out __Naruto had asked for her support. Silk __merely __closed the door with a huge smile and a: "I'm __going __shopping, you dobe!" A yell of: "TEME! __Turning __my own daughter against me!" had saluted those words, soon followed by a smug: "good girl." _

_The next morning, Sasuke and Silk had been __acquainted __to __a __new __rule. __Swearwords had been forbidden. __For every __5 times __the rule was broken there was a punishment__. 10 __laps around the __Uchiha district __doing a hand-walk, balancing __a glass full of water on the head. If __the water spilled, the punishment had to be done __twice._

_Sasuke __had become quite __good at making Naruto __lose __it and swear. It __became a rather enjoyable hobby__Needless __to say neither him nor Silk had had to undergo the __punishment. __Naruto on the other hand… _

Another picture showed Naruto in only his shorts, sweating profusely as he did his laps, the glass of water threatening to fall. On the background were Sasuke smirking and Silk hiding her laughter behind her hand.

A few inches apart from that one was one of Team 5 in their new Chuunin vests. Ryû with his arms around Ibara and Silk's shoulders making a victory sign

_It had been __a whole year since they had __become __Genins __when __Sasuke had finally decided to make them try __out for __the Chuunin __exam__. They had succeeded after quite a few close calls. Ryû had even disguised their scroll as toilet paper… _

One of Sasuke scowling as Suigetsu tied him with water, ruffling his hair, while Juugo and Karin tried to make him smile.

_All three of them __had been accepted in Konoha __after __Sasuke had __advocated__ for them. __With __Juugo still looking for a cure __and Sasuke going back to being an anbu__, team Hebi had been recreated, while Naruto __had taken back __team 5._

One showing a bald Ryu posing with a beret-free Ibara.

_"Don't be stupid__, Ibara. Stop wearing th__at__ hat," had asked Ryû one day__ after coming __back from a mission._

_"No, I__ don't want to be ma__d__e fun of," had dryly replied Ibara __to be countered by Ryû pointing out that no one made fun of his scar. _

_"Y__ou're a ninja. It's normal! And it's the proof of __what you did.__ Being bald at my age is just shameful." _

_"It's the proof of your power, of your blood-line ability__. There is nothing shameful __about that__."_

_"You don't kno__w what it feels like to be bald. You can't understand."  
__  
__Angry at Ibara's complex, Ryû had sh__a__ved his head, strutting proudly __on the streets of __Konoha for __a whole __week before Ibara __burned__ his beret._

A picture of Sakura laughing happily as Lee twirled her around in her beautiful wedding kimono.

_S__he had asked to be a surrogate mother __but __Sasuke had refused, he didn't want to burden her with such a task. He wanted her to __forget him __and find someone __who __would make her happy_.

Naruto in the sexy-no jutsu form, hugging Silk and a scowling Sasuke.

_"Ok, I'm the mother but just for the picture!" had mumbled Naruto, feeling it was weird __that their family didn't have a __mother._

_"Aren't the clothes included __with __that jutsu?" had asked Silk. _

Another set of pictures arranged in succession portrayed Naruto trying to force Sasuke to do the sexy no jutsu. Part of Sasuke… in the sexy no jutsu form. Sasuke throttling Naruto. Naruto and Sasuke in sexy no jutsu form, Silk between them as the little sister, murder intent evident in Sasuke's eyes while Naruto looked blissfully unaware.

Close by was one of Ibara in his Jounin uniform being crushed by his mother, starting to turn blue. Another one showed Ryû, also in his Jounin uniform, shaking Ibara's father's hand with a still throbbing arm that had just been crushed by a hug. Silk's was next, showing her dressed in her new Jounin vest and Sasuke proudly offering her a beautiful fan with hidden needles. Her cat Gouz rubbed against her leg and Naruto discreetly wiped a tear.

Silk with her eyes closed and red cheeks, Ryû's arms around her waist, leaning close for a kiss looking positively terrified, his bulging eyes glued to something behind her.

_It had nearly been their __first kiss. But the __hissed __"__stick your __tongue __in __and you're dead" coming from __an angry Sasuke in his Anbu uniform and the __Sharigan eye__s __had paralyzed Ryû, almost sending him straight to the hospital __of __a heart attack. _

More pictures were strewn about the table. Ibara as a member of Sasuke's Anbu team. Silk about to pick up a strange orange book on the floor and Sasuke and Naruto running after her, horrified trying to stop her.

The impressive Juugo crying in Ryû's arms. Karin holding the giant in a tender hug, Suigetsu patting Ryû's shoulder appraisingly and Sasuke shaking his hand.

_Ryû's medical team had been the one to find a cure for Juugo's problem. _

The Uchiha district all cleaned up and restored. A small memorial of the people who had died in that fateful night hung above each door. They would be the guardians of the future Uchihas

_They had __needed a whole week to return the place to its lost greatness __with the help of __Team 5, Naruto and Sasuke's friend__s, and __the surrogate mothers Sasuke __had chosen so far__. Those women and their future child__ren__ would all live __t__here. _

Ibara being named Anbu captain, Sasuke giving him the red scarf.

Naruto holding his daughter, who had just been assigned her own team to teach. She was glaring because Sasuke was ruffling her hair.

Silk and her team.

Sasuke giving an awkward man hug to Ryû. Naruto twirling Silk in his arms, grinning like an idiot at his crying daughter.

_Ryû had finally taken his courage in both hand__s (as well as a __first-aid __kit) and asked for Silk's hand __in marriage__. Sasuke had agreed, __gracefully __pointing out that at least Silk knew __what to expect from __her __mother-in-law_

Silk and Ryû, holding each other's hands, announcing their marriage to a less than happy Nami.

_Ryû __had __kept visiting __his mother __every day. He had tried __talking about __Silk but every time it __triggered__ a violent reaction. Silk had insisted __in seeing __her even if Nami still hated her. She had decided to come once in a while to talk to her about her relationship with her son. _

Sasuke, Naruto and Silk eating ramen (even the cats had their own bowl) while Itachi-cat bit Naruto.

A picture of Ryû being promoted to Sakura's level, the pink-haired woman on the verge of crying since he had been her student. Ibara and his family looking happy. Sasuke with a hand on the blonde's shoulder and Naruto at his side grinning. Silk holding Ryû's his arm, looking proudly at him. On the background, almost invisible, was a head poking from behind a wall, Ryû's father.

A stack of pictures of the wedding sat on another corner.

_Ryû had dropped __h__is surname and became an Uchiha, Silk __had refused __to leave her name behind.__ They __had their own house with__in the Uchiha district. _

Naruto trying to kiss Sasuke behind Silk's back and the raven hitting him.

A pregnant Silk, Sasuke on his knees head pressed on her belly, emotion clearly visible on his face for those who knew how to look. Naruto fondly trailing his hand in his lover's silky hair. It's Itachi's baby.

_Ryû hadn't been surprise__d__ to learn __that __she would be one of the surrogate mother__s__. He had just asked __that __the child __wouldn't __be named Itachi. He didn't want to end up as __mashed__ potatoes. _

There were also lots of pictures of pregnant women and babies… all Uchihas but one, blue eyed and blonde. Hanabi, who had requested being a surrogate mother and gave birth to twins, one Sasuke's and one Naruto's.

_It had been a __surprise__ from Sasuke. He had __thought __it was sad __that __Naruto didn't have __any __descendants. Naruto had cried __and __Sasuke had had to cancel a mission the next day and wor__n__a __turtleneck for days. _

Sasuke becoming chief of the police and Anbu, Kakashi-sensei at his side as his second in command.

Naruto grinning madly in a beautiful coat… the one offered to him long ago by Sasuke. Finally Hokage.

So many pictures were scattered on the floor still waiting to be organized, some weren't even visible in the pile, but one really important, the one most recently taken:

Naruto and Sasuke, their family and friends at their side. The whole village behind them. Never again alone.

ooooooooooooo End ooooooooooooo

(They used frogs or snakes to take the pictures where they are all together).

This is goodbye for this story. Thanks for all the support you gave me! Please leave me a review (smile).

I'm afraid it will be a while before you see another story from me since life is a bit too busy lately, but who knows… see you later!


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